MRSA is being Mishandled by Schools

The news of MRSA in the schools is frightening.  MRSA has escaped the hospital realm to run rampant in the community.  Jails, military facilities, and schools have the kind of close proximity and common contact that will allow MRSA to spread without regard for who it attacks.  In some cases, MRSA can kill.  in other cases, it creates a hard-to-cure skin disease that can literally eat away at the flesh.  If it hits your school, do not react with instant solutions.  Consider a program that will knock this disease out of your school and keep it out.

There is a two-fold mistake going on with how MRSA is being handled.  It comes from the "Kneejerk Reaction" to something that has serious impact on the community at large, the potential for litigation, and a stigma about "Flesh eating bacteria."  MRSA is an ugly issue that has serious health impact and can cause death in some people.

The first issue is the the schools are trapped into paying a sudden "Big Bill" for a clean up crew to come in and sanitize the school.  Unfortunately, this is not how the problem is resolved.  You see, the cleanest building in the world will be reinfected the very next day because the students carrying the disease are back in the facilities.  MRSA is generally spread through direct contact and only secondarily through indirect contact.  The bacteria does not survive long on most surfaces, but wet places like gyms and locker rooms will sustain the bacteria longer.  Knowing where to clean, how to clean, and how to seriously impact the contagious cycle is so much more than current methods provide.

The first solution is a MRSA Project that is brought into place for a longer period that a day or two.  Cleaning with appropriate products (that can be Green), and cleaning practices needs some modification.  In the long run, there needs to be an PROCESS put in place rather than a costly, one-time santiizing.  This is a more affordable, more reasonable, and more effective resolution to this aggressive disease.

To asses the situation, there needs to be an initial and periodic testing for the bacteria.  This will help identify the strain of the virus, help with the treatment required, and help localize the areas of repeated infection.  If MRSA is discovered in a facility, the quicker the process is installed, the better.  Assessment or testing for disease is an absolute necessity that the professional approach to MRSA.

Secondly, do not buy into a one-time facility cleaning program.  This is over-priced and does not honestly address the problem.  This is almost too fictional to believe.  There is no super-agent or cleaning service who can eradicate a communicable disease in one pass when you have a constant reintroduction of the contamination.  The smartest approach is the introduction of a program that will integrate with your standing janitorial or building maintenance schedule.  Most schools clean the facilities every evening.  Add workforce training for disease control, regular testing to assess the presence of disease as a Due Diligence issue, and review the products being used for maximum effect.  In this approach, you are more likely to break the cycle of contamination that is being reintroduced to the school or office.

This bring me back to one of my most pressing issues,a nd that if the subject of Green Practices.  I find that these sanitizing firms break all the rules for a Green School, introduce volatile products, and generally harm the Indoor Air Quality while trying to stop the disease.  To stop MRSA requires a program, training, and routine assessment.  I suggest that anyone honestly concerned about this subject contact me at the Green Clean Institute for assistance in MRSA programs that really work..