29/05/2021
Covid 19 Contactless Laundry at the Novaliches District Hospital.
Hospital Contaminated Linens is a source of nosocomial infection to the healthcare worker.
According to the Occupational Safety Health Association contaminated linens soiled with bodily fluids, such as blood , saliva, mucous, aerosols, urine, f***s or other potentially infectious materials like sharps, contains a high number of infectious pathogens. These soiled linens may be contaminated with communicable and contagious diseases such as Hepatitis B, Dysentery, Cholera, Typhoid, Hepatitis A, AIDS, Infected burns, and disseminated staphylococcal infections.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that bacteria, viruses and fungi such as Bacillus Cereus, , Microsporum Canis, Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus, Vancomycin Resistant Enterococcus, and Clostridioides Difficile Spores have been transmitted to workers via direct contact or aerosols generated from sorting and handling of contaminated linens.
A study by epidemiologist Dr. Jiang of the C D C revealed that the hospital linens used by covid patients tested positive for a very high viral load of the covid 19 virus.
The D O H Department Memorandum 2020 0072 classifies Laundry workers as a high risk group.
The best way to prevent laundry workers from getting infected by contaminated linens is by Contactless Laundry using water soluble hospital laundry bags.
The DOH in its IRR Chapter 5 Section 9 of PD 856 states that linens from the emergency room, operating room, delivery room, nursery, isolation ward, communicable disease ward, surgery room, intensive care unit, and laboratories are possibly contaminated with contagious or communicable diseases. Linens coming from these areas shall be placed first in a water soluble bag.
Through the initiatives of Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte together with Dr Arias of the QC health Department. The Novaliches District Hospital tests the Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) water soluble hospital laundry bags for Contactless Laundry of Covid 19 and other contaminated linens to protect its health workers.
IPC bags prevents the workers from direct physical contact with the contaminated linens. And since the bags need not be opened, there is no aerosolization of the virus. IPC bags protects the health worker from exposure to serious illness.
The contaminated linens are collected using IPC bags. The bags are not opened and placed directly inside the washing machine. The bags dissolve during the wash preventing additional medical plastic waste.
Using IPC water soluble hospital laundry bags is the international standard in protecting the health worker from exposure to potentially infectious materials during collection, handling, and washing of Covid 19 and other contaminated linens.
May we present our I PC water soluble hospital laundry bags in use at the Novaliches District Hospital.
