Monitoring cleaning of surfaces

Abstract

A method for monitoring cleaning of a surface includes applying an amount of transparent indicator material to an area of a surface and measuring the amount of transparent indicator material remaining on the surface. The transparent indicator material may be fixed on the surface by drying and, when a fluorescent material, may be measured through exposure to ultraviolet radiation.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for determining if a surface has been cleaned, the method comprising:
 (i) applying an amount of indicator material to one or more environmental surfaces in an institution, the indicator material fluorescing upon exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation;   (ii) determining if any of the indicator material remains on the one or more environmental surfaces by exposing the one or more environmental surfaces to UV radiation after one or more opportunities to clean the environmental surface by environmental services staff, thereby providing a quality of cleaning result; and   (iii) training environmental services staff on cleaning issues, wherein training includes providing environmental services staff with information regarding at least one selected from the group consisting of improved cleaning techniques, the quality of cleaning result, a baseline result, and locations of areas to be cleaned.   
     
     
         2 . A method according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 (iv) establishing a quantitative baseline level of cleaning for the one or more surfaces within the environment, the quantitative baseline level of cleaning being based, at least in part, upon steps (i) and (ii).   
     
     
         3 . A method according to  claim 2 , wherein the quantitative baseline level of cleaning is a pre-intervention baseline level of cleaning. 
     
     
         4 . A method according to  claim 2 , further comprising:
 (v) evaluating whether the cleaning of the environment has improved after training environmental services staff members by repeating steps (i) and (ii) to establish a post-intervention level of cleaning and comparing the post-intervention level of cleaning to the quantitative baseline level of cleaning.   
     
     
         5 . A method according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 (iv) determining a pre-intervention level of cleaning, the pre-intervention level of cleaning being a baseline and based, at least in part, upon whether indicator material visibly remains, when exposed to UV radiation, on the one or more target sites.   
     
     
         6 . A method according to  claim 5 , further comprising:
 (v) conducting a review of cleaning procedures performed by the environmental services staff based, at least in part, on step (iv).   
     
     
         7 . A method according to  claim 6 , further comprising:
 (vi) altering existing cleaning procedures to enhance the first institution's cleaning program;   (vii) determining a post-intervention level of cleaning in the environment of the first institution by repeating steps (i) and (ii); and   (viii) comparing the pre-intervention level of cleaning to the post-intervention level of cleaning to determine a change in cleaning.   
     
     
         8 . A method according to  claim 7 , further comprising:
 (ix) providing feedback regarding the change in cleaning to the one or more environmental services staff members.   
     
     
         9 . A method according to  claim 5 , further comprising sharing the baseline with environmental services staff. 
     
     
         10 . A method according to  claim 1 , further comprising comparing the quality of cleaning result with a baseline level of cleaning, wherein and training includes providing environmental services staff with information regarding the comparison between the quality of cleaning result and the baseline level of cleaning. 
     
     
         11 . A method according to  claim 1 , further comprising recording each of a plurality of environmental surfaces in the institution as marked or not marked based upon step (i), any of the one or more surfaces to which indicator material is applied being recorded as marked, and step (ii) including determining if any of the indicator material remains on the environmental surfaces recorded as marked. 
     
     
         12 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein the indicator material is transparent. 
     
     
         13 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein the indicator material is a non-solid. 
     
     
         14 . A method according to  claim 13 , wherein the indicator material is at least one of a liquid or a gel. 
     
     
         15 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein the indicator material is transparent when dry. 
     
     
         16 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein the one or more environmental surfaces are high touch surfaces. 
     
     
         17 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein the one or more environmental surfaces includes at least one selected from the group consisting of a patient call box, a bed rail, an over-bed table, a bedside table, a door handle, a door knob, a door, a call button, a chair, a tray table, a toilet surface, a sink surface, a bedpan, a bedpan flushing device, a telephone, a faucet, a faucet handle, a toilet, a toilet seat, a toilet handle, a grab bar, a push plate, a light switch, and a light switch plate. 
     
     
         18 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein the indicator material resists dry abrasion. 
     
     
         19 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein the one or more environmental surfaces are located in one or more areas within a hospital room, the quality of cleaning result including a percentage of environmental surfaces cleaned for each of the one or more areas. 
     
     
         20 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein the institution is at least one of a hospital, a healthcare facility, and a health care institution.