DIRTY UTENSILS – ISSUE NO. 143

Dirty Utensils : Twice while dining out last week, I had two different utensils that had more than just stains on them. Each of them had a substance from a previous meal on them (possibly egg, who knows). I asked the staff to give me a new utensil and all was well, no harm done. Last week we posted two stories that focused on better understanding of cleaning. One story was about Dr. Michelle Alfa and her work on understanding the importance of monitoring flexible scopes for residual organic soil. The other was about the feature story on NBC's Today Show regarding the challenges healthcare facilities are facing concerning cleaning surgical instruments. The thread between these stories and my dirty utensils is the importance of making sure items are clean. More than that, it is monitoring the process so that an item, regardless if it is a fork or an instrument, is clean and free of organic soil before it goes into use. That is why, more than ever, we need to remember to "Keep it clean".