GBAC® STAR Welcomes First Children’s Museum & Arboretum to Growing List of Accredited Facilities

More than 1,100 facilities are now accredited, including 866 hotels, 77 convention centers, 37 arenas, 18 airports and more

NORTHBROOK, Ill.Jan. 21, 2021—The GBAC STAR™ Facility Accreditation Program from the Global Biorisk Advisory Council™ (GBAC), a Division of ISSA, today announced that Salt Lake City’s Discovery Gateway Children’s Museum and Red Butte Garden and Arboretum; Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, home of the Detroit Red Wings and Detroit Pistons; hotels around the world; and more facilities achieved GBAC STAR accreditation this week.

“The goal of GBAC STAR accreditation is twofold. First and foremost, it helps protect frontline employees and cleaning staff from biological risks,” said GBAC Executive Director Patricia Olinger. “It also gives the public confidence to enter these accredited facilities knowing that they understand how best to clean, disinfect, and prevent infectious disease outbreaks.” 

GBAC STAR teaches the proper protocols, correct disinfection techniques, and cleaning best practices for biohazard situations like the novel coronavirus. The accreditation is valid for one year, at which point facilities undergo a reaccreditation process to showcase their ongoing commitment to maintaining safe and clean spaces. To date, more than 1,100 facilities around the world have achieved GBAC STAR accreditation and an additional 2,700 are currently pursuing the designation.

This week, the following facilities have earned GBAC STAR accreditation, the gold standard for facility preparedness:

Arenas and Stadiums

  • Olympia Entertainment, Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, home of the Detroit Red Wings and Detroit Pistons
  • Will Rogers Memorial Center in Fort Worth, Texas

Convention Center

  • Fort Worth Convention Center in Fort Worth, Texas

Hotels

  • Ararat Park Hyatt Moscow in Moscow, Russia
  • Avatar Hotel Santa Clara in Santa Clara, Calif.
  • Fairfield by Marriott Salt Lake City/Draper in Draper, Utah
  • Grand Hôtel Stockholm in Stockholm, Sweden
  • Grand Hyatt Hangzhou in Hangzhou, China
  • Hampton Inn Salt Lake City-Downtown in Salt Lake City
  • Hilton Garden Inn in Sandy, Utah
  • Hyatt House Atlanta/Cobb Galleria in Atlanta
  • Hyatt House Scottsdale/Old Town in Scottsdale, Ariz.
  • Hyatt Place Ann Arbor in Ann Arbor, Mich.
  • Hyatt Place Aruba Airport in Oranjestad, Aruba
  • Hyatt Place Bowling Green in Bowling Green, Ky.
  • Hyatt Place Colorado Springs/Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, Colo.
  • Hyatt Place Des Moines Downtown in Des Moines, Iowa
  • Hyatt Place Dewey Beach in Dewey Beach, Del.
  • Hyatt Place Houston NW Vintage Park in Houston
  • Hyatt Place Macae in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
  • Hyatt Place Moncton in Moncton, New Brunswick
  • Hyatt Place Salt Lake City Downtown at the Gateway in Salt Lake City
  • Hyatt Place Titusville Kennedy Space Center in Titusville, Fla.
  • Hyatt Regency Osaka in Osaka, Japan
  • Hyatt Regency Phoenix in Phoenix
  • Little America Salt Lake Hotel in Salt Lake City
  • Park Hyatt Paris-Vendôme in Paris
  • Rosen Hotels & Resorts in Orlando, Fla.
  • The Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City
  • Waldorf Astoria Monarch Beach Resort and Club in Dana Point, Calif.

Museums

  • Discovery Gateway Children’s Museum in Salt Lake City
  • Red Butte Garden and Arboretum in Salt Lake City

Theaters

  • Riverside Theater in Milwaukee.

“As the novel coronavirus pandemic demonstrates, infectious disease can spiral out of control when we’re ill prepared,” said ISSA Executive Director John Barrett. “With GBAC STAR accreditation, we’re giving facilities the tools to prepare for, respond to, and recover from outbreaks so they can protect their customers and employees, even during times of uncertainty.”  

To locate facilities that have achieved or are in the process of earning accreditation, visit the GBAC STAR Facility Directory at gbac.org/directory.

About GBAC, a Division of ISSA

Composed of international leaders in the field of microbial-pathogenic threat analysis, mitigation, response and recovery, the Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC), a Division of ISSA, provides training, guidance, accreditation, certification, crisis management assistance and leadership to government, commercial and private entities looking to mitigate, quickly address and/or recover from biological threats and real-time crises. The organization’s services include biorisk management program assessment and training, Forensic Restoration® response and remediation, the GBAC STAR™ facility and service accreditation programs, training and certification of individuals and consulting for building owners and facility managers. For more information, visit www.gbac.org.

About ISSA

With more than 10,500 members—including distributors, manufacturers, manufacturer representatives, wholesalers, building service contractors, in-house service providers, residential cleaners and associated service members—ISSA is the world’s leading trade association for the cleaning industry. The association is committed to changing the way the world views cleaning by providing its members with the business tools they need to promote cleaning as an investment in human health, the environment and an improved bottom line. Headquartered in Northbrook, Ill., USA, the association has regional offices in Mainz, Germany; Whitby, Canada; Parramatta, Australia; Seoul, South Korea; and Shanghai, China. For more information about ISSA, visit www.issa.com or call 800-225-4772 (North America) or 847-982-0800.

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For more information, contact ISSA Director of Communications Jill Nuppenau at [email protected]; phone, 847-982-0800 Ext. 1367.