Ecolab launches EnCompass Environmental Hygiene program to improve patient room hygiene

Feb 1 2010

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE: ECL) today announced the launch of its new EnCompass™ Environmental Hygiene program, a comprehensive clinical program that helps hospitals improve patient room hygiene and prevent the spread of infections. The program includes cleaning tools, products, dispensing equipment, auditing processes and cleanliness monitoring to help hospitals clean patient rooms more quickly, consistently and effectively.

“Proper cleaning is critically important in preventing the spread of pathogens, placing environmental services on the frontline of defense in infection control”

“Healthcare organizations recognize the important role that proper cleaning plays in infection prevention, yet research has found that on average fewer than half of the high-touch surfaces are cleaned in patient rooms in most hospitals,” said Paul B. Chaffin, vice president of Ecolab Healthcare North America. “Ecolab developed EnCompass to help healthcare providers improve hygiene and reduce the environmental transmission of pathogens that cause infections.”

Clinical research has shown that patients admitted to rooms previously occupied by individuals infected with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) or vancomycin-resistant enterococcus (VRE) are at greater risk of acquiring these pathogens, most likely from environmental surfaces contaminated by the previous patients. With the EnCompass program, Ecolab Healthcare offers hospitals a way to reduce those risks, including:

• Cleanliness Auditing and Reporting – Ecolab works with hospital representatives to evaluate whether the housekeeping staff are cleaning and disinfecting rooms properly by using a fluorescent gel testing solution that glows under black light, though not readily visible to the naked eye. This allows auditors to see which surfaces have been cleaned and help better train the housekeeping staff.
• Accurate Dispensing, Effective Chemistry and Efficient Tools – The EnCompass system helps ensure that appropriate levels of disinfectant are delivered to critical surfaces. The system uses color-coordinated microfiber cloths and mops with ergonomic modular cleaning stations, which help separate clean and dirty items to minimize cross contamination. EnCompass cleaning products provide clinically-tested concentrated disinfectants, ready-to-use cleaning solutions, wipes, hard surface cleaners and odor counteractants.

“Proper cleaning is critically important in preventing the spread of pathogens, placing environmental services on the frontline of defense in infection control,” said Phillip C. Carling, MD, director of infectious diseases and epidemiology at Caritas Carney Hospital in Boston, a professor at Boston University School of Medicine and an advisor to Ecolab Healthcare. “The right tools, education and a systematic approach to cleaning are proven to reduce environmental contamination which helps prevent infections.”