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Health care facilities are one of the fastest growing Green cleaning segments, according to Mike Sawchuk, vice president and general manager of Green cleaning chemical products manufacturer Enviro-Solutions.

Sawchuk is right. Distributors of Green cleaning products and supplies that are looking to break into this market need to educate themselves about the issues hospitals and nursing homes face to ensure their Green cleaning solutions are successfully put in place.

THE CLEANING TOLL

In the United States alone, 99,000 people die each year in hospitals of health care associated infections (HAls). It is estimated that 1.7 million infections also occur annually, affecting 5 to 10 percent of hospitalized patients, also adding nearly $20 billion to the nation’s health care costs.

While it is clear that some of the best strategies to address infection rates include single patient rooms, hand washing and personal protective equipment, many health care professionals are now reexamining both how they clean, and the kinds of products they use to clean and disinfect. Their efforts are now trying to prevent HAIs while also minimizing exposure risks to chemicals for patients and staff. Green cleaning chemicals and equipment, when used in combination with efficacious cleaning/disinfection processes, can benefit patient and worker safety as well as reduce environmental impact, and occasionally, the bottom line.

THE CLEANING ENVIRONMENT IN HOSPITALS

Bloomington Hospital, located in south central Indiana, began the Green cleaning process in 2007 with the help of their director of Environmental Services, John Freeman. They set up a trial comparing Green products on the maintenance of their floor surfaces. By doing this, Freeman was able to implement a small change that introduced Green cleaning as a way to improve patient satisfaction and to reduce the incidence of cleaning-related health issues.

Green cleaning is new territory for most hospitals, and as Freeman points out, the staff has many questions about these new products and their processes. “We were especially interested in learning how Green cleaning affects infection rates, overall costs and labor,” explains Freeman. “We also needed to know what support system is available from the supplier.”

Freeman found that by switching to Green cleaning products, labor times were cut in half and the products used had a better scent. Bringing in these Greener products also resulted in an 8 to 13 percent reduction in cost compared to the cost of traditional cleaners. As a result, the significant buy-in from nursing staff allowed his hospital to bring on more Green cleaning products in their daily cleaning routines. The hospital has seen great success in using Green cleaning products in the care of hard floor surfaces.