Multiple studies have demonstrated that patients admitted to a room in which the prior occupant was infected or colonized with a pathogen were more likely to acquire that pathogen during their hospital stay than patients who were admitted to rooms in which the prior occupant was not infected or colonized.

You must consider cleaning and disinfection frequencies of resident rooms both for routine purposes and during terminal cleaning. 

Routine cleaning and disinfection for resident rooms:

• Horizontal surfaces with infrequent hand contact, like floors and window sills, should be cleaned:
  • On a regular basis (i.e., daily);
  • When spills occur; and
  • If the surfaces become visibly soiled.

Terminal cleaning of a room is performed when a resident has been discharged or transferred and the room is being prepared for another resident.

• All high-touch surfaces should be cleaned and disinfected.
• Horizontal surfaces with infrequent hand contact, like floors and window sills, should also be cleaned and disinfected.
• All linens, including sheets, towels, and privacy curtains, should be bagged and removed for laundering.