JAN-PRO Philadelphia outlines how clinical cleaning differs from office cleaning

JAN-PRO Cleaning & Disinfecting in Philadelphia released guidance on clinical cleaning for outpatient care, saying medical spaces need cleaning, disinfecting, documentation and training standards that general office cleaning does not cover. The guidance comes as the CDC says about 1 in 31 hospital patients has a healthcare-associated infection on any given day.

Why it matters: - Healthcare-associated infections remain a real risk in outpatient offices, clinics and specialty practices, not just hospitals. - The CDC estimates that about 1 in 31 hospital patients has at least one healthcare-associated infection on any given day. - Contaminated environmental surfaces are an established route of transmission. - Pathogens documented in hospitals, including C. diff, MRSA and norovirus, also appear in outpatient care settings.

What happened: - JAN-PRO Cleaning & Disinfecting in Philadelphia released guidance explaining how clinical cleaning differs from general office cleaning. - The guidance focuses on surface disinfection in outpatient care. - The Philadelphia office said clinical settings must follow standards including CDC environmental cleaning guidance and OSHA’s Bloodborne Pathogens Standard. - Chad Janak, president of JAN-PRO Cleaning & Disinfecting in Philadelphia, said a medical office is not just an office and many practices are cleaned as if they were.

The details: - Clinical cleaning uses a different method, sequence and documentation process than general office cleaning. - Surfaces must be cleaned before they are disinfected. - Disinfectant applied over visible soil does not reach pathogens beneath the soil. - Hospital-grade disinfectants must be used at labeled contact times. - Each disinfectant label sets a dwell time, meaning the number of minutes the surface must stay wet to kill what the product claims to kill. - Surfaces wiped dry too early are not fully disinfected. - Color-coded microfiber systems help separate restroom materials from exam-surface materials to reduce cross-contamination. - Written protocols that reference CDC guidance and OSHA requirements provide documentation that can be reviewed during an audit. - Training for clinical environments must account for different requirements in waiting rooms, exam rooms and procedure rooms. - Regulated areas require specific handling.

Between the lines: - The guidance reframes cleaning as part of infection control, not just appearance or routine maintenance. - The emphasis on documentation suggests practices may face more scrutiny on whether procedures are written, repeatable and audit-ready. - The message also points to a gap between general janitorial services and the operational needs of medical offices. - Janak said practice managers should ask whether cleaning happens before disinfecting and whether the provider can show a protocol.

What's next: - JAN-PRO said protocol reviews and facility walkthroughs are available by request at (610) 209-7589. - The Philadelphia office provides medical office cleaning in Philadelphia, commercial cleaning in Philadelphia and medical facility cleaning in Montgomery County. - The company said Philadelphia and surrounding counties, including Montgomery, Delaware, Chester and Bucks, have many hospital-affiliated practices, independent clinics and specialty offices that carry infection-control responsibility regardless of size. - More information is available on JAN-PRO Philadelphia's social media channels, Instagram, Facebook and Yelp.

The bottom line: - Clinical spaces need a cleaning program built for disinfection, documentation and compliance, not a standard office-cleaning checklist.