Wiping out confusion: A toolkit to define roles and improve cleanliness in complex patient care spaces.

BACKGROUND

A clean patient care environment is critical for safety, yet medical technology, unclear cleaning ownership, and diverse teams complicate expectations. Reliable cleaning practices are essential.

METHODS

A partnership between Infection Prevention, Nursing, and Environmental Services was created to assess and improve cleaning in clinical care environments. The institutional improvement framework was used to guide this work.

RESULTS

A partnership between Infection Prevention, Nursing, and Environmental Services led to sustained improvements in room cleanliness and staff understanding of cleaning roles. A toolkit was created and is provided, including monitoring tools, education, and staff talking points.

CONCLUSION

Our toolkit establishes strategies to define cleaning responsibilities in highly technical clinical settings and support environmental service teams to maintain cleanliness in a complex patient-care environment.