HSI Webinar Series:
Deadly Microbes Lurking on Healthcare Surfaces

The truth about the role surfaces play in Healthcare-acquired Infections and what we all can do about it.

Most hospital and healthcare environments look clean. There are professionals in those facilities who work every day to ensure the surfaces and rooms are clean and disinfected, while also adhering to the required fast room turnaround times. However, there is an invisible killer lurking on the thousands of surfaces in healthcare facilities. Surface-based pathogens are one of the leading causes of healthcare-acquired infections or HAIs, which are responsible for nearly 100,000 deaths every year. And yet, surfaces are mostly overlooked and, frankly, ignored. It is a complex issue, and there currently are no regulatory requirements or standards for testing and validating surface materials and products. Shockingly, some of the methods and materials used to clean and disinfect surfaces are actually damaging the surfaces, creating greater risk of infection and death. Join Linda Lybert, executive director of the Healthcare Surfaces Institute, as she explains the reality of surfaces and what we can do collaboratively to solve this issue and save lives.

Learning Objectives:

• Learn about the impact surfaces have on infection prevention and the threat they pose to healthcare workers and patients.
• Identify the gaps and inconsistencies between real-life healthcare scenarios and current scientific test methods relating to disinfectant and surface compatibility.
• Review the role that healthcare environmental surfaces play in infection prevention and explain why surface compatibility with chemical disinfectants can impact the safety of patients and healthcare personnel.