Part Two: Assessing Your Infection Prevention Program, Two-Part Series (ODPT2W5025)-Assessing Your Infection Prevention Program, Part Two 6-26-25

Video Transcription

Video Summary

In this comprehensive webinar, Ms. Linda Green, a seasoned expert in infection prevention, addresses critical aspects of cleaning, disinfection, sterilization, and the environment in healthcare settings, with a focus on surgery and high-level disinfection. She opens by explaining the Spalding classification system, defining critical, semicritical, and noncritical instruments and their cleaning requirements. Emphasizing the importance of pre-cleaning and adhering strictly to manufacturers’ instructions for use, she discusses various disinfectants, highlighting their appropriate application and associated safety concerns.<br /><br />Linda stresses that environmental cleanliness is paramount, noting pathogens can survive on surfaces for extended periods, thereby increasing infection risk. She outlines strategies to improve environmental hygiene, such as education, competency validation, and collaborations with environmental services staff, underscoring their crucial role in infection prevention. She advocates using objective monitoring tools like ATP testing and fluorescent markers to validate cleaning effectiveness.<br /><br />The webinar also covers sterilization processes, including physical and chemical monitoring and biological indicators as the gold standard to ensure sterilization success. Special attention is given to complex devices like endoscopes, stressing thorough cleaning at the point of use, competency in high-level disinfection, and proper storage to prevent infections.<br /><br />Further, Linda highlights the evolving education of infection preventionists and staff, advocating tailored, engaging teaching methods that incorporate adult learning principles and storytelling to improve compliance and understanding. She encourages infection preventionists to conduct rounds, validate practices, and foster multidisciplinary teamwork.<br /><br />Overall, the session provides vital, practical guidance on infection prevention practices, monitoring, and education, aimed at reducing healthcare-associated infections through rigorous cleaning, disinfection, sterilization, and environmental hygiene.

Keywords

infection prevention

cleaning

disinfection

sterilization

healthcare environment

surgery

high-level disinfection

Spalding classification

critical instruments

semicritical instruments

noncritical instruments

environmental hygiene

ATP testing

fluorescent markers

endoscope cleaning