HSI Webinar Series:

How Surfaces Damaged by Disinfectants Spread Infections

Surface damage caused by disinfectant incompatibility allows dangerous pathogens to grow and spread.

There’s a scary catch-22 happening right now in hospitals and healthcare facilities. Per infection prevention guidelines, rooms and equipment are thoroughly disinfected many times a day. Yet, some surface materials are being damaged due to incompatibility with the disinfectants used and this damage increases the risk of infection. How can this be happening? Unfortunately, assessing surface disinfection compatibility is not a common practice in healthcare facilities. Surfaces are everywhere – in the environment, textiles, furnishings, medical devices and equipment. Determining which disinfectants are safe to use on each surface is a difficult task, yet one that must be addressed to reduce the transmission of healthcare-associated infections.

Join Linda Lybert, executive director of the Healthcare Surfaces Institute, as she explains surface disinfection compatibility and what manufacturers and facilities can do to help bring this pressing issue to the forefront in infection prevention.

Learning Objectives:

• Learn what surface disinfection incompatibility is and how it happens.
• Understand the chaos and confusion surrounding cleaning and disinfection and how damage can occur.
• Empower healthcare professionals to ask questions about Instructions for Use (IFUs) and ensure the guidelines support your facility’s infection prevention guidelines for cleaning and disinfection.

Continuing Education:

• This program has been approved for 1.0 contact hour of nursing CE credit, provider number CPE 488.