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May 15, 2020

In Part 2 of Cheryl’s fascinating conversation today with Linda Lybert--Founder and Executive Director of the Healthcare Surfaces Institute--they discuss the absence of validation requirements for surfaces that are used in the healthcare and hospital environment. Linda shares, “If you don’t have surfaces that are in the healthcare setting that can be effectively cleaned and disinfected, the way they need to be cleaned and disinfected, we won’t ever stop the spread of pathogens that cause deadly infections.” Grab a pen and paper for this episode as Linda shares critical information for understanding the complexities of healthcare surfaces you won’t want to miss!

For the last 20 years, Linda Lybert has been a crusader for awareness and change in the crucial area of healthcare surfaces. Working directly with healthcare facilities and manufacturers, Linda developed the “7 Aspects of Surface Selection©” – the foundation of her Healthcare Surface Consulting business multi-modal solution to address all aspects of this complex problem. The “7 Aspects of Surface Selection©” is available for free and can be downloaded here: https://www.healthcaresurfaceconsulting.com/7-aspects.

With a clear understanding of the diverse areas of expertise all working on the same issue separately, Linda recognized a need for more research and collaboration of all experts and founded the Healthcare Surfaces Institute in 2016. This cutting-edge collaborative nonprofit brings key stakeholders together to raise awareness about the role of surfaces in the spread of infections and to drive new solutions to mitigate the incidence of HAIs. To learn more about Linda Lybert and the Healthcare Surfaces Institute, visit: https://www.healthcaresurfacesinstitute.org/

This program is brought to you by Porcelanosa who extend their heartfelt appreciation for your support of this podcast. Stay safe and be well. To learn more about Porcelanosa, visit http://porcelanosa.com.

Thank you to our industry partner, The Center for Health Design. To learn more about CHD’s new program MakingRoom, Connecting hotels and hospitals with urgent needs for space, please visit, https://www.healthdesign.org/makingroom.

In Part 2 of Cheryl’s conversation today with Linda Lybert, you will learn:

  • Why is there an absence of validation requirements for surfaces that are used in the hospital healthcare setting and what does this mean for hospitals post COVID-19?
  • What healthcare hygiene guidelines must be implemented in hospitals and why is surface testing so critical? Where do we start?
  • Why healthcare design professionals including planners, architects, interior designers and others in the field could be the bridge to the educational component necessary to successfully win the war against hospital acquired infections. 
  • What is most important for the healthcare design community to understand about the materials they specify for the healthcare setting?
  • What surface materials are the worst for hospitals and why is that so? 
  • What are the problems with Instructions for Use products?
  • What are the problems with rigorous cleaning and hospital grade disinfectant requirements?
  • What are the biggest challenges for material engineers, designers and general contractors moving forward?
  • What is the Healthcare Surfaces Certification and Standards Program that is being created by The Healthcare Surfaces Institute?

Additional support for this podcast comes from our industry partners:

  • The American Academy of Healthcare Interior Designers
  • The Nursing Institute for Healthcare Design

Learn more about how to become a Certified Healthcare Interior Designer®  by visiting the American Academy of Healthcare Interior Designers at: https://aahid.org/.

Connect to a community interested in supporting clinician involvement in design and construction of the built environment by visiting The Nursing Institute for Healthcare Design at https://www.nursingihd.com/