Journalists often talk about something known as "the Five Ws and One
H”—otherwise known as who, what, where, when, why, and how. Any
properly written news story or press release will contain all of these
elements in one form or another.
Today, the Five Ws and One H are also becoming the basis for a new way of providing a variety of services to health care facilities. This is especially true when it comes to cleaning. In fact, the Five Ws and One H are now the foundation for what some have termed “the new model of cleaning” in medical locations.
The why behind this new approach is simple: The past decade bore witness to a frightening variety of disease outbreaks around the world that included SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), the Norwalk virus, MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), and, most recently, H1N1. Growing concerns about the emergence of new infectious risks to public health have made it obvious to facility managers, cleaning professionals, and public health experts that a new model for more effective cleaning is needed.
The where for this new model was also identified rather simply—just about any place where large groups of people gather, but especially medical facilities where there may be very young, very old, and very ill people—all more vulnerable to disease.
Identifying the why and where for a new cleaning model has been easy, but what about the other three Ws?
Identifying the who. The who in cleaning refers to those who share the responsibility for a health care facility's cleanliness. Historically, this meant the facility's custodial and/or housekeeping departments. But today, we increasingly see the responsibility for cleaning starting at the top and working its way down. Decisions are made by top management and then implemented by the housekeeping department and other staff. This means that a facility's entire staff actually contributes to keeping the facility hygienically clean and stopping the spread of disease.
Redirecting the what. Even in medical facilities, which have traditionally placed a greater emphasis on cleaning to protect health compared to other types of facilities, what is cleaned typically focused on those areas that improve the appearance of the facility. In the new model for cleaning, however, much greater emphasis is now placed on hygienically cleaning less prominent areas such as cleaning and sanitizing “high-touch” areas: elevator buttons, light switches, door handles, bedside tables, ledges, and controls.
Read more:
Today, the Five Ws and One H are also becoming the basis for a new way of providing a variety of services to health care facilities. This is especially true when it comes to cleaning. In fact, the Five Ws and One H are now the foundation for what some have termed “the new model of cleaning” in medical locations.
The why behind this new approach is simple: The past decade bore witness to a frightening variety of disease outbreaks around the world that included SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), the Norwalk virus, MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), and, most recently, H1N1. Growing concerns about the emergence of new infectious risks to public health have made it obvious to facility managers, cleaning professionals, and public health experts that a new model for more effective cleaning is needed.
The where for this new model was also identified rather simply—just about any place where large groups of people gather, but especially medical facilities where there may be very young, very old, and very ill people—all more vulnerable to disease.
Identifying the why and where for a new cleaning model has been easy, but what about the other three Ws?
Identifying the who. The who in cleaning refers to those who share the responsibility for a health care facility's cleanliness. Historically, this meant the facility's custodial and/or housekeeping departments. But today, we increasingly see the responsibility for cleaning starting at the top and working its way down. Decisions are made by top management and then implemented by the housekeeping department and other staff. This means that a facility's entire staff actually contributes to keeping the facility hygienically clean and stopping the spread of disease.
Redirecting the what. Even in medical facilities, which have traditionally placed a greater emphasis on cleaning to protect health compared to other types of facilities, what is cleaned typically focused on those areas that improve the appearance of the facility. In the new model for cleaning, however, much greater emphasis is now placed on hygienically cleaning less prominent areas such as cleaning and sanitizing “high-touch” areas: elevator buttons, light switches, door handles, bedside tables, ledges, and controls.
Read more:
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