One of the most critical interventions that can be performed to decrease the risk for cross-transmission and development of hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) is routine cleaning and disinfection of medical equipment and environmental surfaces, according to a blog by J. Hudson Garrett Jr., chairman of the Association for the Healthcare Environment (AHE) research committee, on the Health Facilities Management website.
"The many environmental surfaces in healthcare settings are considered noncritical surfaces and, therefore, require a low-level disinfectant," Garrett wrote, "Cross-contamination can occur in a variety of ways, but most often the environmental surface becomes contaminated and then serves as a reservoir for microbial growth. The hands of either the provider or the patient come in contact with this surface, and then contact is made with another device or surface, thereby contaminating it."
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