The story of the Sambhavna Clinic, a non-profit holistic health clinic in Bhopal, India, built to treat those injured by the Union Carbide toxic gas release in 1984. enlarge video
Green Cleaning in Healthcare
Authors: Xiaobo Quan, Anjali Joseph, Matthew Jelen, and the Center for Health Design
September 2011. 56 pages.
Summary
Environmental cleaning plays a key role in prevent¬ing healthcare associated infections (HAIs). But many current cleaning practices in healthcare may negatively impact human health and the environ¬ment. Green cleaning is a new, promising approach to environmental cleaning that aims at reducing harm to human health and the environment while maintaining or improving the hygiene of the healthcare environ¬ment. While a growing number of healthcare facilities are adopting green cleaning practices, there are many essential questions around green cleaning that remain unanswered due to the lack of research in this area.
Green cleaning is an interdisciplinary, systematic approach involving the selection and use of cleaning products as well as operational changes and building design. A variety of green cleaning products and practices have been implemented in healthcare facilities. However, one big challenge in implement¬ing green cleaning is the limited evidence regarding the effectiveness of these products and practices. The actual effects of green cleaning are typically not routinely monitored and evaluated, even though cer¬tain relevant data may already be collected for other purposes in various health care departments. For the ongoing development of green cleaning initiatives, it is urgent to conduct research focusing on practical questions from real settings.
