The key is that sanitation, safety, and quality cannot be assured for items – particularly paper, textile products such as mops and cloths, and chemicals – that are kept in janitor/housekeeping, soiled utility, and other such areas.  When it comes to soiled utility rooms, it might be good for the EVS profession to stop using the term "Soiled Utility Room" and change it to "Contaminated Utility Room."  If it’s soiled, it should be considered contaminated and treated/handled accordingly.  When thinking of sanitation, safety, and quality our profession must consider broader aspects of each word. 

EVS is a proud and honorable profession and as such it must always insist on doing the best and taking the extra steps to ensure that everyone and everything associated with it is held to the highest standards and goals.  If our professionals do not do so, we will see other disciplines encroaching upon and annexing what is currently EVS. 

I would suggest that you look for the following on-line: State Operations Manual, Appendix A – Survey Protocol, Regulations, and Interpretive Guidelines for Hospitals or go to this link to download a PDF document that you may find invaluable:

www.hcmarketplace.com/supplemental/8987_browse.pdf

For assistance in reasoning out the excluding of the rooms in question, I refer everyone to the following.  They are two typical CMS Guidelines cited.  I’ve also provided an OSHA Website that might interest you.

Interpretive Guidelines §482.41(c)(2) – Facilities, supplies, and equipment must be maintained to ensure an acceptable level of safety and quality. Interpretive Guidelines §482.42 Condition of Participation: Infection Control.

http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/hospital/housekeeping/housekeeping.html#ContaminatedWorkEnvironments

Highlighting common scenarios from hand hygiene and glove use to properly cleaning patient rooms, this video will illustrate the type of precautions that housekeeping staff should take to protect themselves and patients from germs and infections that could make them sick.

1. Never mix chemicals.
2. Always wear gloves.
3. Always wear protective eye wear or glasses when pouring chemicals or working overhead.
4. Always wash your hands after chemical use and before eating.
5. If a potentially harmful chemical comes in contact with your skin or eyes, flush with water immediately and call your supervisor.
6. If n doubt about proper use, always ask your lead, supervisor or manager.
7. Chemicals should always be dispensed in the safest manner possible from a flip top cap. The only exceptions are glass cleaners and deodorizers, which can be dispensed by trigger sprayers.
8. Any chemical on a cleaning cart or in a storage closet must be labeled with the correct name of the contents in the bottle, the specific hazard warnings, and the target organs affected by exposure to the chemical. In other words, a pre-printed label. Don’t just write the name on a bottle.
9. For any question concerning makeup or compounds, please refer to the MSDS or your hazard communication manual.