This week, September 9-13, is Environmental Services Week! Environmental service professionals are all the workers who maintain facilities and the environment in health care settings. According to the Association for the Health Care Environment (AHE), "The staff and management teams responsible for maintaining the clinical environment of care require different skills and competencies from those needed in the commercial cleaning and general maintenance industry, and it's time we address this critical distinction."
The knowledge of health care environmental services professionals and their front-line staff is rooted in the fundamentals of infection prevention, microbiology and evidence-based practice related to cleaning and disinfection. And there are key differences between health care and non-health care roles associated with managing multiple waste streams, floor care, linen handling and distribution.
AHE has multiple resources related to Environmental Services, including a case study about disinfectant, Environmental Services Advisories and information about their "We Are Environemental Services" Initiative.
ALM also has materials available in our Resource Library. Simply seach the Member Portal for "environmental" or "infection prevention" to see all the materials.
If you are recognizing Environmental Service Week in your workplace, we want to hear about it! Hop on over to the ALM Member Forum and share how you recognize your Environmental Services staff!