You can’t trust your health care facility’s cleaning to just anyone. It is important that your environmental services team understand the ins and outs of your industry and the necessary techniques for proper disinfection. This requires the right certifications.

Whether you are hiring a professional or have an in-house team, there are three certifications that members of your environmental services team must have.

1. Certified Health Care Environmental Services Professional (CHESP)

Are your cleaning services performed by a Certified Health Care Environmental Services Professional (CHESP)? The CHESP curriculum provides an overview of all the skills and knowledge required to clean in a medical setting. OctoClean is the only commercial cleaning provider in the Inland Empire with a Certified Health Care Environmental Services Professional.

Certified Health Care Environmental Services Professionals are trained in:

  • Regulatory compliance
  • Design and construction
  • Environmental sanitation operations
  • Waste management operations
  • Textile management operations
  • Finance
  • Administration

2. Certified Surgical Cleaning Technician (T-CSCT) 

According to the Association for the Health Care Environment (AHE), the Certified Surgical Cleaning Technician (CSCT) curriculum builds the competencies of professionals responsible for the cleaning performed in high-stakes surgical and procedure environments.

The following topics are covered:

  • Executing the proper sterile room cleaning and disinfecting techniques
  • Standard operating room procedures and protocols to prevent transmission of pathogens
  • Apply critical-thinking and decision making skills to specific to the operating room
  • Communicate effectively with colleagues

The “T” in T-CSCT means that the professional trained in CSCT is certified to train others. This is crucial to an expanding team.

3. The Certificate of Mastery in Infection Prevention for Environmental Services Professionals (CMIP)

Communication is a key element to the success of your environmental services program. The CMIP curriculum reinforces the knowledge required to coordinate and align efforts across the care team to implement infection prevention strategies and improve outcomes. The AHE claims it is the only program that brings the knowledge of an infection preventionist into real-world day-to-day operations of a medical facility.

The CMIP program covers:

  • Microbiology and epidemiology
  • Patient and health care worker safety
  • Surveillance
  • Risk assessment and outbreaks
  • Antimicrobial Stewardship
  • Evidence-based cleaning practices
  • Environmental monitoring
  • Infection prevention during construction and emergencies

Do You Need a Certified Cleaning Service Provider?

Is your current provider certified for your industry? Certifications for medical cleaning are important because you can’t meet standards without fully understanding what those standards are and holding all those involved responsible.

OctoClean’s Vice President of Health Care Services, Greg Stowe, has all three certifications. He regularly trains our franchise owners on proper techniques and is a resource to them out in the field.

If you truly want to build a partnership with your service provider, you need to do business with someone who values the safety and well-being of your facility and its occupants, and that begins with the right qualifications.