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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Nosocomial or hospital acquired infections happen all the time despite even though hospitals take precautions to make sure that the environment is clean, and the providers sanitize their hands before entering patient rooms.
There are two big factors that keep them from being the catastrophy you describe. First is isolation precautions: anyone with a particularly contagious illness is isolated to their room, and healthcare providers are required to wear special PPE (personal protective equipment) when entering the room for patient care. Second, you have medical staff monitoring the patient 24/7, so if they do get a nosocomial infection, it can be caught quickly and treated early.
Housekeeping is incredibly important in a hospital. Staff are constantly wiping things down to sanitize them. Many of the surfaces in a hospital are also designed to be easy to clean and to not harbor bacteria.
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