Healthcare environmental services infection control: the basics of microbiology.

Support service staff members, regardless of their specific work assignment, frequently come into contact with infected patients and contaminated facility surfaces. Their thorough understanding of the basics of microbiology is critical to the development and implementation of an effective infection control program. Workers who have the benefit of appropriate education as well as the most recent, up-to-date information are positioned to make safe and effective decisions as they go about the task of addressing the many and various environmental situations that occur during the course of the day. These decisions often directly affect the patient care delivery process as well as the quality of its outcomes. The following document provides basic information about the science of microbiology and the disease-producing microorganisms commonly found in a health care facility as well as how those organisms are spread and controlled.