We hear the term “hospital-acquired infection” frequently in the professional cleaning industry. Just so everyone one is on the same page, it probably would be a good idea to define it. A hospital-acquired infection is any infection that was not present at the time the patient was admitted to the hospital.

Hospital-acquired infections have been a major issue for hospitals for decades. However, far from going away, they continue, with more than 2 million people in the U.S. diagnosed with a hospital-related infection each year. Of these, nearly 10,000 die.

It should also be noted that for those who survive, fighting a hospital-acquired infection can be long, very debilitating and very costly. The average cost to treat a patient with a hospital acquired illness is $15,000. Multiply this times the 2 million people each year who have a hospital-acquired illness and this amounts to more than $30 billion, annually.

Why do these numbers stay so stubbornly high? Some public health experts believe it is because of the following:

· The hospital patient population is aging, making them more susceptible;

· There is a much higher staff turnover today making it harder to maintain standards; and

· Ineffective sterilization, disinfecting and cleaning programs are in use allowing pathogens that can cause hospital acquired infections to survive and grow.

One way the Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Charleston, West Virginia, tackled their hospital acquired infection problem was to stop mopping floors. Yes, you read that correctly. The facility became aware of studies that found that mopping floors can actually spread contaminants. And because we have as many as 50 direct and indirect contacts with floors every day, if a floor is contaminated the chances it can spread disease via cross-contamination can be very serious.

According to Donald Hammons, housekeeping services manager at the hospital, in place of mopping floors, the hospital turned to no-touch cleaning, the indoor-pressure washing system developed by Kaivac. 
Using the Kaivac system, metered amounts of chemical are applied to floors, along with walls, counters and scores of other surfaces. The same areas are then rinsed and then vacuumed up, completely removing the contaminants from the area cleaned.

“We found the [Kaivac] to be much more thorough than using traditional cleaning tools,” said Hammons. “But what is most important, we have found a way to effectively remove — not spread — contaminants from our hospital floors.”