I’ve never really understood how these places, which naturally bring in the sick and unwell by the thousands every single day, eliminate all or any airborne pathogens, viruses that spread via contact with surfaces, or by a patient coughing or sneezing. It’s not like they lock down the whole facility and sanitize it top to bottom every time a new patient comes in, so how come these places don’t become massive hubs for the spread of disease? How are waiting rooms not considered one of the most dangerous places for transmission in the world? What steps are these doctors and professionals in the field taking to ensure that these people who are coming in sick, aren’t making everyone else in the building sick as well?
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I work in surgery, and we do indeed wipe down every surface after every patient, protect the patient with clean linen and other clean accessories such as forced air blankets and sequential compression devices that are disposed of after one use. Everything used on the patient is either disposable or sterilized between uses (such as surgical instrumentation) using heat, or chemical (HLD or high level disinfectant) methods on things that can’t be heated or exposed to steam for prolonged periods of time. Sterilizers are checked every single day using enclosed spore pods to assure that all systems are operating properly. Floors are mopped between cases with antimicrobial disinfectant single-use mops. Even the lights are wiped down between cases. Infection control is an enormous priority. Surgical cases are planned so that certain cases are only performed in certain ORs. Last but not least, there is a positive pressure air-handler in every surgical suite which assures that air in the OR is refreshed completely every 12 minutes. It’s a lot of work, but it’s the only thing keeping patients safe from microorganisms.
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