Clean Hospitals

The Clean Hospitals Association is a global healthcare environmental hygiene network. We are a coalition of international stakeholders, from academia, governmental bodies, NGOs, healthcare and industry. Clean Hospitals is committed to making sure that standards for environmental hygiene are raised around the world, regardless of resource level or geographical location. We work to raise awareness about the importance of environmental hygiene, conduct academic research, provide training, and develop tools to foster measurable improvements on a global level. We aim to use the knowledge and momentum generated by our research and working groups to raise industry standards and increase the visibility of the hospital environment in patient care. The purpose of the initiative is to increase patient safety and bring international attention to the need for an increased focus on hospital environmental hygiene. Although the hospital environment tends to be one of the most understudied and underfunded areas in healthcare, there is enough literature in the field to prove that a well-maintained patient environment is crucial for preventing the spread of healthcare-associated infections and antimicrobial resistance. Beyond patients, hospital environment hygiene also has a direct impact on the lives of the people working in the hospitals, as well as a broader impact on communities and the environment. These improvements in hospital environmental hygiene will benefit public health by lowering rates of healthcare-associated infections, reducing antimicrobial resistance, and protecting hospital staff as well as the larger environment.