Employees November 03, 2011
These OR cleaners come out at night, and shine
Not unlike bright stars in the sky, a group of seven Environmental Services associates come out at night with the express mission of deep cleaning the 51 operating rooms in Yale-New Haven Hospital.
During the day, Perioperative Support associates tackle the ORs between surgical procedures. They have less than a half an hour between cases to ensure cleanliness that meets regulatory and infection control standards.
The nighttime cleaning procedure is a much more complete process that includes top-to-bottom cleaning of each suite. Like the daytime procedure, it addresses what can be seen, but more importantly, it addresses the unseen microorganisms that can lead to hospital-acquired infections.
"We made the commitment to establish a consistent, reliable process to meet all requirements and to standardize the cleaning in the ORs," said Dawn Tomaszewski, manager, Perioperative Support Services. "To be effective, we knew we had to create a team dedicated to the effort on a daily basis."
Tomaszewski worked with Perioperative Support supervisor Jeremy Richman, who heads the new team, to create the job description, centralize responsibility for its success, standardize what had to be done in each OR, expand existing Perioperative Support associate training for the team, and how to document the work.
"Getting this team off the ground was a challenge and a pleasure," says Richman. "We created a team to take on a task that is critically important to patient care and safety. We've got a great crew and we are proud of the work we've accomplished so far."
Darrell Bellamy, for three years an EVS associate on the day shift, echoes his supervisor. "We are getting the job done," says Bellamy. "These rooms can harbor staph infections and what we do is a big part of keeping patients safe."
Some of the intensive cleaning that the team is trained to do includes: floor care, disassembling and cleaning surgery tables, dusting the tops of surgical lights, washing the walls and all equipment — including rolling wheels — with disinfectant.
Darren Lewis is another EVS associate who also worked days and joined the team in May. "It is like we signed up for a mission," says the seven-year YNHH veteran. "Doctors and nurses notice how clean the ORs are and our scores have gone up dramatically."
"Our goal is to provide the cleanest, safest environment for our patients," said Tomaszewski. "They come to Yale-New Haven to remove a tumor or fix a broken bone — the last thing they think of is leaving here with an infection they didn't come in with. Patients expect a clean environment and they deserve it, and this team is ensuring that they get it."
In the photo: Supervisor Jeremy Richman and the members of the nighttime OR cleaning team from left: Richman and environmental services associates Angel Nieves, Gary Rose, Lenny Walker, Darrell Bellamy, Darren Lewis, Gabriel Harris and Raman DeBerry.
