SKOKIE, Ill., Nov. 12, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- UMF
Corporation, today announced the recipients of the company's 10th
annual Hygiene Specialist® Excellence award, which acknowledges the
important contribution of environmental services (ES) departments
in hospitals and long-term care facilities across the country.
Environmental Service Aides Elida Gardilla and Lourdes Rosenwasser of Mount Sinai South Nassau
in Oceanside, New York, are this
year's recipients of the award.
"We are elated that UMF Corporation has recognized Lourdes and
Elida with the National Hygiene Specialist Award," says
Felix Nazario, Administrative
Director of Environmental Services at Mount Sinai South Nassau.
"Infection prevention and control are top priorities for Mount
Sinai South Nassau. The combination of outstanding employees such
as Lourdes and Elida, the right products, and the right training
make our hospital a pillar in the healthcare community when it
comes to infection prevention."
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), on any given
day, about one in 31 hospital patients has at least one healthcare
associated infections (HAI). Though mostly preventable, HAIs such
as Clostridium difficile (C. diff) and Methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) occur in all types of patient and
extended care settings. C. diff, for example, can result from the
bacteria found on environmental surfaces in healthcare
environments. Without proper cleaning of such surfaces,
cross-contamination can occur.
A recent study in the American Journal of Infection Control
showed that, with the proper ES protocols in place, C. diff rates
fell to zero over the course of 1,000 patient days. Management at
leading health systems understand and recognize the importance of
ES as part of an enterprise-wide multimodal intervention plan to
combat such infections.
"We established the Hygiene Specialist Excellence Award in order
to recognize the invaluable contributions of the unheralded
environmental services departments across the country," said UMF
Corporation CEO George Clarke. "UMF
Corporation is committed to increasing awareness and recognition of
all these dedicated professionals who are so critical in the battle
against preventable HAIs. When we reviewed the nominations, it was
obvious that these two individuals deserved recognition. Therefore,
we decided to award both Elida and Lourdes, who serve as the first
line of defense in ensuring safe patient environments are
maintained at Mount Sinai South Nassau."
During her ten years working in the 12-room Mount Sinai South
Nassau critical care unit (CCU), Ms. Gardella has been one of the
hospital's top performers in an extremely delicate unit. With daily
cleaning, she ensures the CCU is disinfected to the highest
standards. She also performs daily terminal and steam cleaning, and
does her own floor care. Her ATP (adenosine triphosphate) testing
results – which are used to verify cleanliness of hospital surfaces
– consistently are stellar.
Ms. Rosenwasser has worked in Mount Sinai South Nassau intensive
care unit (ICU) since 2012, performing highly effective daily
cleaning as well as terminal cleaning and steam cleaning. Her ATP
results are great, and she also maintains an excellent floor care
routine in the 10-room unit.
"Elida and Lourdes not only perform their jobs excellently on a
daily basis, but they train other members of our ES staff and
regularly go above and beyond," adds Nazario. "Elida and Lourdes
are very dedicated and regularly achieve a very high level of
excellence."
The recipients will share the 2018 award sponsored by UMF
Corporation.
And, to submit for the 2019 National Hygiene Specialist Award,
please visit https://www.perfectclean.com/award-copy.
About UMF Corporation
UMF Corporation is the leader in the research and development of
high-performance textiles for the infection prevention and
commercial cleaning markets. Through extensive testing, exhaustive
analysis and the commitment of significant human and financial
resources, new antimicrobial technologies have been merged with
innovative product designs that are redefining the future of
clean®. http://www.perfectclean.com
Press Contact
Michelle Meek
773-220-3120
michelle@redpillchicago.com
SOURCE UMF Corporation