Clean rooms essential to patient safety at Adirondack Medical Center

SARANAC LAKE - An additional level of protection has been added to further enhance patient safety for people receiving care at Adirondack Medical Center, a member of Adirondack Health.

All staff is held to the highest of standards to provide a clean and safe environment to protect patients against hospital acquired infections.  The data demonstrates the infection rates at AMC are consistently lower than other similarly sized facilities in the state and nation.  And while the rates at AMC are lower, the objective is to continually strive for an infection rate of zero. 

To that end, AMC has implemented a cleaning verification and monitoring system.

The cleaning verification system involves the use of a stylus roughly the size of a small marker to take a surface sample from a frequently touched area, such as a door knob or tray table.  The stylus is then placed in a hand-held scanning device to verify how well the surface has been cleaned.  The information is then stored in a database and tracked over time.  The data validates the practices followed by the environmental services team by confirming the cleanliness of an area.  The results also show opportunities for improvement.

When a patient comes to AMC for a surgical procedure or to recover from an illness, a clean and safe room is as important as regular visits from the nurse or doctor.

The environmental services team at AMC is a highly trained group of individuals who play a key role in the recovery of patients.  Every time a patient is discharged from the Medical Center, the environmental services team springs into action to thoroughly sanitize the room.  This is in addition to the assigned cleaning tasks conducted daily for the duration of the patient's stay at the Medical Center.

To prepare the room for the next patient, an intense cleaning takes place.  This involves fresh linens, cleaning the floor, windows, and all frequently touched surfaces such as door knobs, bed rails and tray tops. The cleaning verification system is an additional best practice in the cleaning process to ensure all areas at AMC are safe as possible for the next patient, their family and visitors.

Denise Figueroa, Director of Environmental Services, takes a surface sample from a tray top with a stylus
that will be scanned in the device held by Environmental Services Technician Mary Foster.  Registered Nurse Noelle Wood
discusses the results of other surface areas being tested for cleanliness in a patient room on the Surgical Floor
at Adirondack Medical Center.  The cleaning verification system is a new practice used at AMC to enhance patient safety.

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	AMC is accredited by the Joint Commission. Click here to view the Joint Commission Public Notice.
	AMC is accredited by the Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program.
	Adirondack Medical Center's Bariatric Program and Dr. Michael Hill have been designated as a Center of Excellence by the American Society for Bariatric Surgery.