Infection Control

Cleaning and Disinfection Procedures for All Employees: Personal and Shared Areas

Our custodial crews have worked extensively throughout the spring and summer months preparing for the fall semester. As employees return their normal work locations, it will take a community effort to keep workspaces clean. All University of Northern Iowa employees have shared responsibility to keep their personal work areas and shared areas of their workplaces clean and safe. 

Printable Cleaning and Disinfection Procedures for All Employees: Personal and Shared Areas 

Custodial Services Disinfection Protocol

Custodial Services has a protocol in place when notified of a confirmed case of COVID-19 on campus.  For more information, please view our COVID-19 Safety Program

Understanding Methicillin Resistant staph aureus for Environmental Services Personnel (PowerPoint)

When Jonathan Butler, Manager of Custodial Services at (319) 273-6827, receives a report of a Staph or MRSA infection he will find out the buildings that person has been in, within the University. If the infected person is in athletics, we will then contact Don Bishop, Head Athletic Trainer. After talking to Don, we then will contact the Athletic trainer that is specific to the athlete’s sport to help determine where the athlete has been. If the athlete is in any sport that may use the Dome or McLeod Center, we will contact Brooke Croshier-Sidebotham, Assistant Athletic Director. She then may have to have the playing surfaces disinfected. It is then Brooke’s responsibility to contact the individuals within the Athletic program that this directly affects. We then will contact Chris Denison, Director Campus Recreation, Recreation Services because the Athletic programs use the Athletic weight room within the WRC, Chris will then contact the individuals within the WRC that this directly affects.

We will also contact the employees that take care of the Athletic laundry services, Steve Nurse, Athletic Equipment Operator, and others, that the infection will directly affect. If the person is a Faculty or Staff member, we will determine what areas they were in and will contact their department head to help us to determine where the employee has been, within the University. The cleaning process that we follow is to disinfect every possible surface that could be contaminated within the facility. The custodial staff will repeat this process nightly for one week to ensure every surface has been disinfected and no cross contamination is possible. We will wipe down chairs, desks, handrails, elevators, restrooms, classrooms, shelves and offices.

We have several chemicals that we will use; the chemicals are rotated on a monthly basis so that infections will not have a chance to adjust to any one certain type of chemical. All of the disinfectants that we use are able to eliminate Staph and MRSA infections and many other diseases.

Cleaning Products Used

• VIREX II 256
• VIREX TB
• OXIVIR TB WIPES

These products are used on a nightly basis throughout all of Building Services.

Facility Services Staph Infection/MRSA Reporting Policy

Facility Services requires anyone that knows of or has heard of anyone that has or may have Staph infection or MRSA that has been in any building on the Northern Iowa campus. These cases must be reported immediately. Facility Services takes these issues seriously and this is the first step in a series of steps that needs to take place in order to keep our buildings safe and clean for all who use our campus.