If you manage a medical office, dental practice, or any facility where blood or other potentially infectious materials (OPIM) may be present, OSHA’s Bloodborne Pathogens Standard (29 CFR 1910.1030) applies to your cleaning contractor as well as to your clinical staff. Most practice managers do not think to ask whether their cleaning service has trained their employees under this standard. Many cleaning contractors operating in healthcare settings have not.
What the Standard Covers
OSHA’s Bloodborne Pathogens Standard requires employers whose workers may be occupationally exposed to blood or OPIM to implement an Exposure Control Plan, provide appropriate personal protective equipment, offer hepatitis B vaccination, and train workers on exposure prevention and response.
Cleaning staff in medical offices fall under this requirement. When a crew member cleans an exam table, disposes of waste from a clinical area, or cleans a surface that may have blood or body fluid contamination, they are occupationally exposed. A cleaning contractor who has not trained their staff under the standard is non-compliant, and depending on your facility’s internal policies and state health department licensing, that non-compliance can reflect on your practice as well as on the contractor.
Key Requirements That Apply to Cleaning Staff
| Requirement | What It Means for Your Cleaning Contractor |
|---|---|
| Exposure Control Plan | The contractor must have a written plan identifying which employees have occupational exposure and how exposure is controlled. |
| Personal Protective Equipment | Crew members must have access to and be trained to use appropriate gloves, and in some situations eye protection or gowns, when cleaning clinical areas. |
| Training | Training must be provided at initial assignment and annually. It must cover how bloodborne pathogens are transmitted, what PPE is required, and what to do if an exposure incident occurs. |
| Hepatitis B Vaccination | Must be offered to all employees with occupational exposure within 10 days of initial assignment, at no cost to the employee. |
| Sharps Containers | Cleaning staff must be trained never to reach into sharps containers, recycle or empty them, or remove them from the clinical area. Disposal is a clinical staff function. |
What to Ask Your Cleaning Contractor
Before engaging a cleaning contractor for a medical or dental facility, ask directly whether they have a written Exposure Control Plan, whether their clinical-area crew members have received bloodborne pathogen training within the past 12 months, and whether they have offered hepatitis B vaccination to those crew members. A contractor who cannot answer these questions confidently has not addressed their obligations under the standard.
What We Do
Minneapolis Medical Office Cleaning trains crew members assigned to healthcare facilities under OSHA’s Bloodborne Pathogens Standard. Training is documented and renewed annually. Crew members working in medical offices receive guidance specific to sharps handling, biohazard waste, and PPE use in clinical environments before their first visit to a healthcare facility.
Work With a Contractor Who Knows the Rules
Request a written quote. We include our scope-of-work approach to OSHA-regulated cleaning environments in the quote documentation.
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