Dirty Utility room/area

[smoddra]

I was asked by our wound care department about getting rid of their dirty utility room. They were using an exam room for it that they were needing as an exam room again. All they use their dirty utility for is prewashing instruments at the end of the day. They have a sink and cabinet area that was there med station but they were moving it to a closed room. Was wondering if this area could be used as their dirty area if it was labeled and not used for anything else. I haven't really found much info about it. I found an article about just having a marked off area in a lab and using it as dirty. Any input would be very appreciated.

[sediaz]

If CMS were to survey the facility you would probably be cited for mixing dirty with clean. On our IC environmental rounds sheet, we have to check the clean utility rooms and ensure that nothing "dirty" is stored there and we also have to ensure that nothing clean is in our soiled utility room. When we check each PAR we have to ensure that no opened supplies "dirty" are mixed in with sealed packages "clean". We are continually reinforcing "Clean with clean and dirty with dirty". You write They have a sink and cabinet area that was there med station but they were moving it to a closed room. Is this closed room used for anything else? If not, perhaps this closed room could be dedicated to "dirty items".

[smoddra]

The closed room has no sink which is the only thing they need a dirty for. Nothing clean would be kept in this area. Cleaning supplies in the cabinets and at end of the day the sink would be used for cleaning instruments. The area would not be used much if at all during the day and only for dirty things. My main concern was if it had to be in an enclosed room.