CMM Weekly Recap-March 6, 2020

Maintaining a facility—from keeping its restrooms clean and its roofs from leaking to making sure its HVAC and electrical systems work—is crucial for assuring the health and safety of people inside. This week’s news focused on cleaning and maintenance at different facilities and what happens when this maintenance is lacking, often through no fault of custodians and cleaning professionals. 

As coronavirus continues to spread throughout the United States, focus turned to a Washington state nursing home which experienced a COVID-19 outbreak. Even before coronavirus hit the United States, nursing homes were struggling to uphold basic infection control protocols to stop the spread of pathogens from making already frail residents sick. Since 2017, government health inspectors have cited nursing homes for poor infection prevention practices more frequently than for any other violations, CNN reports.  More than 60% of U.S. nursing homes received citations for one or more infection-control deficiencies.

Schools are another type of facility struggling to keep up with cleaning and maintenance, especially with funding shortages. Schools in the Howard County Public School System in Maryland are experiencing the effects of a US$545 million deferment of more than 300 school maintenance projects, The Baltimore Sun reports. Delayed projects in Howard County schools include stalled work on HVAC systems, roofs, electricity, and plumbing. In fact, plumbing projects are so far behind that at Dunloggin Middle School in Elliot City, Maryland, there are only seven working toilets in the girls’ restrooms, and 13 urinals and six working toilets in the boys’ restrooms. That rate of toilets to students is about 45 girls to one toilet and 52 boys to one toilet.

If you work as a custodian or professional cleaner at a nursing home or school, hats off to you for the hard work you do to keep your building patrons safe and healthy, in spite of the odds often working against you. All professional cleaners and custodians deserve appreciation, which we hope they will receive during National Cleaning Week, March 22-28, 2020. National Cleaning Week celebrates the value of clean and the important, positive impact cleaning has on public health, the environment, and our economy.

Don’t wait for National Cleaning Week, thank a professional cleaner today or give yourself a pat on the back. CMM will see you back here on Monday for more news.