AORN Awards "Seal of Recognition" to EnCompass Operating Room
Training Program for Meeting Recommended Best Practice Guidelines
ST. PAUL, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Ecolab Inc. (NYSE: ECL) today launched the EnCompass™ O.R. Environmental
Hygiene program, which provides healthcare facilities with a proven
approach to improve the cleanliness of operating rooms (O.R.) and reduce
the risk of infections. The training and education program has received
the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) "Seal of
Recognition" for meeting the guidelines set forth in AORN's Perioperative
Standards and Recommended Practices.
"Proper environmental cleaning is essential for effective patient care
in the operating room because high-touch surfaces can harbor
infection-causing pathogens if not disinfected thoroughly, every time,"
said Philip C. Carling, MD, director of Infectious Diseases at Carney
Hospital in Boston and advisor to Ecolab Healthcare. "In fact, a recent
study to determine if high-touch surfaces in the operating room were
effectively disinfected found that only 25 percent (237 of 946 targeted
surfaces) were cleaned properly. The study also found that enhanced
staff training and education yielded significant improvements.1"
The new EnCompass O.R. program builds upon Ecolab's comprehensive
EnCompass Environmental Hygiene program for patient rooms, bringing its
standardized processes, training, objective monitoring, automated
reporting, and effective cleaning tools and products to the operating
room. It includes DAZO® fluorescent marking gel for
monitoring surface cleanliness and an iPod mobile app for easy tracking
and real-time reporting of environmental hygiene results.
In addition, to optimize operating room turnover efficiency, Ecolab
offers the CleanOp® Room Turnover System, a line of
single-use products that support infection prevention. A CleanOp system
contains operating room table linen, bags, mops and wipes and is
configured to the hospital's specific needs. Single-use microfiber mops
and wipes and Mojave® O.R. table sheets, which feature a
3-layer material comprised of an impervious bottom layer, a super
absorbent middle layer, and a top patient comfort layer, help reduce the
risk of cross contamination between surgical procedures. The CleanOp
system facilitates easy access to necessary supplies to both clean an
O.R. suite and quickly set it up for the next procedure.
"We know the positive impact environmental hygiene has on preventing
infections and have developed the EnCompass O.R. program to give
perioperative staff the right tools, training and programmatic approach
based on best practices, to improve O.R. turnover efficiency, more
accurately measure outcomes and drive continuous improvement," said Paul
B. Chaffin, senior vice president and general manager for Ecolab
Healthcare North America.
"The EnCompass O.R. training materials are informative and meet the
association's standards for excellence in safe patient care," said
Sharon Van Wicklin, MSN, RN, CNOR, CRNFA, CPSN, PLNC, perioperative
nursing specialist, AORN.
Recommendations from the Joint Commission, the Centers for Medicare and
Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) include standardizing cleaning and monitoring cleaning
results as key drivers of improving cleanliness and maintaining a
sanitary environment.
For more information about the EnCompass program, visit www.ecolab.com/industries/healthcare.
About Ecolab
With 2011 pro forma sales of $11 billion and
more than 40,000 employees, Ecolab Inc. (NYSE: ECL) is the global leader
in water, hygiene and energy technologies and services that provide and
protect clean water, safe food, abundant energy and healthy
environments. Ecolab delivers comprehensive programs and services to the
food, energy, healthcare, industrial and hospitality markets in more
than 160 countries. For more Ecolab news and information, visit www.ecolab.com.
(ECL-P)
1 Jefferson J, Whelan R, Dick B, Carling P. AORN J. A novel
technique for identifying opportunities to improve environmental hygiene
in the operating room. 2011 Mar;93(3):358-64.
Ecolab Inc.
Roman Blahoski, 651-293-4385
MediaRelations@Ecolab.com
Source: Ecolab Inc.
News Provided by Acquire Media