Apr. 20--HOSPITAL-ACQUIRED infections can debilitate or kill patients, and dealing with the infections costs money.
St. Joseph Medical Center thought that was enough reason to shed extra light on the matter.
That's why it partnered early this year with Sodexo, an environmental services company headquartered in Gaithersburg, Md., to institute a new cleaning system with a tool that emits ultraviolet light to spotlight cleanliness or the lack of it.
"We want a hospital room as clean as possible for the next patient so he doesn't get germs from the previous one," said Perry Focht, 48, Blandon, Sodexo general manager who is working with Joi Randolph, 55, Reading, a Sodexo environmental services manager, at the Bern Township hospital.
In January, St. Joseph earned high marks in a state Department of Health report for minimizing hospitalizedacquired infections, or HAIs.
In a letter to hospital physicians, Dr. Samuel Alfano, St. Joseph chief medical offi cer and vice president of medical affairs, said: "In the report, the St. Joseph Medical Center numbers are among the lowest in the state ... and regionally. St. Joseph's infection rate per 1,000 patient days was 0.98."
In February 2008, all hospitals began electronically reporting HAIs using the national Centers for Disease Prevention and Control National Healthcare Safety Network. Hospitals are required to report infections within 48 hours of the recognition, Alfano said.
HAIs, also called a nosocomial infection, can be caused by bacteria, viruses, parasites or fungi. They can lead to illnesses such as pneumonia, bloodstream infections or urinary tract infections.
"With the Sodexo system we are getting automatic and daily feedback on the cleanliness of our rooms and overall facilities," said Bill Trate, 59, of Sinking Spring, the hospital's day shift environmental services supervisor, with a staff of 24 housekeepers.
The Sodexo Shine system involves randomly daubing sites in a patient's room with a fluorescent marker similar to a bingo marker, except that the marking is not visible in regular light.
After a housekeeper cleans a room, Trate is called to check the areas by using an ultraviolet light to check the marked spots. If a site is not cleaned adequately, the light will show the fl uorescent dots.
The light also is eff ective in showing biological contaminants in bathrooms that don't appear to the naked eye.
"We've certainly seen a difference in the quality of cleaning," said Trate, who originally worried that the system might adversely affect the morale of his cleaners.
"No, I wasn't too sure about all this at first," Trate admitted. "But we've stressed that this is not about getting a housekeeper, but rather about making them become better cleaners."
Holding an example of a February inspection report, Trate showed a list of 27 items cleaned in a room -- everything from a room light switch and door knob to toilet fl ush handle, faucet handles and arms and seats of furniture.
Total score: 84.7 percent. Most items earned a 100 percent cleanliness ranking, but some sites such as a bedside table drawer, paper towel dispenser, clothes closet and bed headboard were not as clean, earning lower scores in the 50 to 75 percent range.
"This is all about striving for improvement and taking a positive approach to cleanliness," Trate said.
Trate said his workers have conscientiously tried to improve their cleaning methods for the protection of patients
Contact Bruce R. Posten: 610-371-5059 or bposten@readingeagle.com.
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