Biryogo Health Center - Day 4

Today was a pretty simple day! We started the day by meeting with the cleaning staff at the health center. We talked to them about their cleaning procedures and practices. The cleaners are a really important part of the IPC healthcare team that are often forgotten about. We were a little bit hesitant about this meeting because we hadn’t really witnessed any cleaning during our observations and we didn’t smell any cleaner anywhere in the health center. We were pleased to find out that the few members of the cleaning staff were very serious and passionate about their work. One of the workers said you “have to have a heart of perseverance to be a cleaner at a clinic”. Haha he was right! It is so important for the staff to be passionate about their work so it is done right.They explained in detail all of their procedures for cleaning and they showed us all of their cleaning supplies. I was a little sad to see they didn’t have much disinfectant and their stock of supplies was very small. Unfortunately the funding portion of the problem is out of our control so we had to come up with other ways to help them clean more efficiently and thoroughly. We went over dilutions with them so they could use their chlorine disinfectant to its fullest. We also went over the surfaces and circumstances that require cleaning that may not be natural for them to think of. Overall it was a really great meeting! I am continually impressed with the dedication all of the people we have met have for their work! it is inspiring. We were given the rest of the day to work on our presentations we are to give to the medical staff on Saturday! Suzanna and I are in charge of glove procedures! I’m really happy about that because that was something that I couldn’t get out of my mind after our observation day.