WTOC-TV: Savannah, Beaufort, SC, News, Weather & Sports Is your medical facility as clean as it should be?

There could be dangerous health hazards in your medical facility that you can't see.

If you suspect a place where you or a loved one receives medical care is not sterile enough, there are things you can do.  First, ask questions, whether it's someone at the front desk, a nurse, or even the doctor. Make sure those worries are heard loud and clear, experts told WTOC.

Environmental hygiene, a very serious and sensitive issue at hospitals and medical centers nationwide, is the first line of defense against preventing infection. Some Savannah area  medical facilities are stepping up their cleanliness standards.

"It is safe to say some facilities are not cleaning as often as they should be," Adam Exas told WTOC.

Exas is the Director of Operations for Grey-Cor Cleaning Services of Savannah, specializing in medical facility cleaning. He says his crews, including himself, have seen blatant health violations and hazards.

"The worst I've seen is bio-hazard left in inappropriate places where you are dealing with airborne toxins," Exas said. The pictures he had showed blood still on the floors, in some cases trailed into other surgical areas, and opening disposed, in and out of garbage bags.

"There are certainly places I wouldn't take my family members," he said.

"There is a proper way to handle bio-waste," James Syms, Optim Orthopedic, told WTOC.

Bio-waste is just one of the concerns for Syms and his staff at Optim in Savannah. He says their facility is very conscious of cleanliness and puts the threat of infection as the highest of priorities.

"That is one of the first things we look at is cleanliness of a facility," Syms said.

"The first line of defense is good hand washing. Most important thing you can do," Frank Kelly, Eco Applicators, told WTOC.

At Optim, Kelly has been hired, along with Grey-Cor, to maintain the highest standard of sterilization. Kelly's company is now using a microbial spray, called OxiTitan, which forms a coating over anything in a surgical area and uses light energy to help kill off dangers.

"It's long lasting. Lasts more than a year," Kelly said.

Not only does it work in surgical settings, Kelly says OxiTitan can be used on any surface, indoors or outdoors, from the waiting room to the entrance of the building. 

"You take doorknobs. People are touching it day in and day out. You can even spray the cover of an I-pad...or an ATM," Kelly said.

"It kills bacteria, kills airborne toxins and helps disinfect the entire surgical suite," Exas added.

Exas says Grey-Cor has teams of two during the day and 5 part-time people at night keeping Optim Orthopedics entire building clean, complimenting the addition of the OxiTitan.

"Those places, who see more patients and require more cleaning need more attention," he said.

If your doctor's office or medical facility sees 25 or more patients a day, Exas says it should be cleaned daily. Less than 25 patients a day, and the cleaning may not be as frequent.

So, what if you feel your hospital room or another area is not clean enough?

WTOC contacted both Memorial Health and St. Joseph's-Candler hospitals to ask that question.

Scott Larson, spokesman for St. Joseph's Candler, told WTOC, "Should a patient like additional cleaning, he or she just has to tell the nurse and environmental services will quickly respond."

"Keeping our facilities clean and our patients safe from infection is of the utmost importance to St. Joseph's/Candler," Larson wrote. "We have a dedicated and robust environmental services team that keeps our facilities clean everyday. "

To ensure safety and cleanliness we follow Centers for Disease Control guidelines. Our cleaning steps include: 

• A six-step process for cleaning patient rooms everyday, with a focus on 17 high-touch area utilizing micro-fiber technology.   
• Cleaning room walls after the patient is discharged.
• Use of EPA approved hospital-grade germicidal cleaners.
• A four-step process for hallways and common areas.

For more information on clean medical facilities, visit the CDC website at http://www.cdc.gov/hicpac/pdf/guidelines/Disinfection_Nov_2008.pdf

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