Sri Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Children’s Hospital
Overview of the workshop
Dr. Gavin Macgregor–Skinner, Senior Director at GBAC, along with RJ Patel and Gosia Baran, journeyed from the United States to Fiji to conduct workshops on “Cleaning for Health” at the Sri Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Children’s Hospital. During the sessions, they focused on infection prevention, covering cleaning, disinfecting, and strategies aligned with ISSA training methodologies. Additionally, the team facilitated an on-site hospital assessment as part of the GBAC STAR facility accreditation program.
The GBAC STAR™ accreditation provides facility owners and managers with the means to reassure workers, customers, and stakeholders that their establishments maintain proven systems for clean and healthy environments.
While the Sri Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Children’s Hospital showcased impressive buildings and amenities, the team faced challenges with the quality of their cleaning tools and lacked ATP meters to measure the cleanliness of hospital equipment and surfaces.
Patel, President of PCT Clean in Kennesaw, Georgia, and former Chair of the ISSA Residential Cleaning Council in the United States, emphasized the pivotal role of microfiber in enhancing infection prevention and ensuring worker safety, which was not fully realized by the hospital until their arrival.
Conducting an ATP Test (Kikkoman A3) on bed rails in patients’ rooms.
The results were 9158 RLU prior to cleaning, surpassing the manufacturer’s reference limits of 500 RLU.
Using a microfiber and cleaning the surface of the bed rails.
A retest was performed on the identical surface after cleaning with a microfiber, resulting in a decrease to 30 RLU.
The Sri Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Children’s Hospital
The Sri Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Children’s Hospital in Suva stands as the South Pacific’s inaugural state-of-the-art pediatric cardiac hospital, providing free surgeries, treatments, and services. With over 240 life-saving heart surgeries performed at the facility, its groundbreaking efforts have faced challenges as hospital and cleaning staff struggled to access tools, equipment, cleaning resources, and training aligned with international industry standards. Upon initial discussions with the hospital’s cleaning team, Dr. Macgregor-Skinner discovered that formal training in health facility cleaning was lacking, and staff resorted to watching YouTube videos for cleaning techniques. Recognizing an opportunity, ISSA master trainers were engaged to assist the facility in adopting cutting-edge cleaning practices and implementing a train-the-trainer program. Dr. Macgregor-Skinner emphasizes the critical role of proper cleaning practices in hospitals, as inadequate procedures can compromise infection prevention and control programs, potentially increasing the risk of infection from contaminated equipment and the environment.
Following facility assessments and training support, significant progress has been made. The Sri Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Children’s Hospital achieved a milestone by becoming Fiji’s first hospital to receive ISSA’s GBAC STAR facility accreditation. This accreditation affirms that the hospital has implemented a comprehensive program supporting high-performance cleaning and maintenance practices for the built environment.
Expressing gratitude in comments to The Fiji Times, hospital director Dr. Krupali Tappoo conveyed their humility at receiving this global accreditation from GBAC.
Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC) STAR ™
The GBAC STAR accreditation certifies that a hospital, healthcare facility, or other business has committed to having:
- Established and maintained a cleaning, disinfection, and infectious disease-prevention program to minimize risks associated with infectious agents.
- Proper cleaning protocols and work practices are in place to combat biological hazards.
- Cleaning professionals who are trained in outbreak and infectious disease prevention and response.
Dr Macgregor-Skinner says ISSA educators will offer ongoing training for cleaning staff at the Suva hospital to ensure that it maintains and improves its cleaning standards while offering a safe environment for the hospital’s life-saving work.
The ISSA team will adopt a “train-the-trainer” program structure to train and certify hospital staff and cleaning professionals so that they can successfully implement a quality training program for their organizations.
