HAIs and maintenance needs
When it comes to creating safer spaces, healthcare settings demand flooring that can be efficiently cleaned and disinfected. A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) survey, based on a large sample of U.S. acute-care hospitals, found one in 25 hospital patients had at least one healthcare-acquired infection. (For more, visit www.cdc.gov/hai/surveillance/index.html.) A separate CDC study of medical costs estimates the overall annual direct medical costs of HAIs to U.S. hospitals ranges from $35.7 to $45 billion. (More on this study is available at www.cdc.gov/hai/pdfs/hai/scott_costpaper.pdf.) Thus, it is important to note the strong performance characteristics of extremely dense, closed-surface premium rubber flooring. This flooring is inherently dirt-repellent and neither serves as a media to microorganisms, nor encourages or produces bacteria. This allows it to support the drivers of infection control in the built environment.
Additionally, premium rubber flooring does not contain any added antimicrobials, which means the flooring is free of pesticides and chemicals. Antimicrobials have two major uses:
- to disinfect, sanitize, reduce, or mitigate the growth or development of microbiological organisms; and
- to protect inanimate objects (e.g. floors and walls) from contamination, fouling, or deterioration caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoa, or algae.
However, in a 2003 study, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) stated, “There is no evidence to suggest that products with added antimicrobials prevent disease.” (Visit healthybuilding.net/news/2014/01/08/fda-acts-on-antimicrobials to read more.)
Following up on this report, Kaiser Permanente, an integrated managed care consortium based in Oakland, California, consulted with infectious-disease experts. The infection prevention community agreed with CDC’s findings properly cleaning and disinfecting surfaces will kill pathogens effectively and mitigate the risk of spreading HAIs. As a result, in 2015 Kaiser banned 15 antimicrobial chemicals and elements as additives to furnishings and finishes in the built environment as a component of its Environmentally Preferred Purchasing (EPP) program. (For more, visit is available at share.kaiserpermanente.org/article/kaiser-permanente-rejects-antimicrobials-for-infection-control.)
In the absence of these antimicrobials, proper maintenance of floorcoverings becomes even more critical. Maintenance is a key area where specification of premium rubber flooring improves safety, as well as clinical and operational optimization. An automatic scrubber can clean and buff rubber floors rapidly by applying water to the floor via a scrubbing pad and then squeegeeing the water off the floor, leaving a clean, dry floor in about the same amount of time it takes to mop. This process eliminates the need for chemicals in cleaning and improves IAQ in support of health and wellness.
Further, premium rubber floors do not require the labor-intensive application of coatings or waxes. The absence of finishes and other chemicals benefits everyone in a healthcare setting, especially those who might be sensitive to smells or suffer from allergies these products aggravate. It also means there will not be a need to move patients or close large areas of a facility for an extended period while floors are cleaned and coatings or waxes are applied and allowed to dry. This is especially important given healthcare is a 24/7, 365-day operation.
Additionally, the introduction of a steam-cleaning system gives facilities and environmental service teams the ability to clean the floor while an area is occupied, increasing flexibility, reducing disruption to clinical work, improving patient perception, and directly impacting HCAHPS scores.
