Whew! What a journey we have been on the past 2 ½ years, and the COVID-19 pandemic appears to be a crazy time warp for us now, thank goodness! That said, I read an interesting article on a study that was performed on how important hand washing and cell phone disinfecting can help reduce the spread of infection! Sure, we aren’t nearly as worried about COVID-19 today but what about monkeypox!

Okay, I’ll stop sensationalizing, however, the study did show that when cell phones were cleaned and disinfected on a scheduled basis, the risk of spreading infection was lowered! The researchers used a device that measures bioluminescence that detects residual organic matter which is an indicator of surface cleanliness. That sounds a little disgusting, organic matter, but think about those facility/shared, cordless/cell phones, yikes!

At the end of the day, we all know the importance of sanitizing our handheld devices, especially when we enter/leave resident care areas. The last thing we would want to do is “share” our organic matter with our residents! Johns Hopkins Bayview uses UV light devices to disinfect phones and tablets and I have observed staff members using powderless, disposable gloves to cover their cell phones when in resident care areas. These steps may decrease the risk of spreading infection, but nothing replaces good old-fashioned cleaning! Stay the course, stay informed and stay well!