Managing human waste is complicated in any occupied environment. Doing so effectively and hygienically in healthcare facilities, however, can make the task even messier.
“Human waste management is a major challenge across the board, particularly from an infection control standpoint,” says Melissa Balinsky, Manager with AMG Medical. “And the reality of a hospital is that waste comes from everywhere.”
Managing larger volumes of human waste comes with more than a few technical challenges. For one, some healthcare spaces may be equipped with the plumbing, electricity, and supporting infrastructure to handle macerators, while older or different areas may require alternative solutions (e.g., hygienic bags).
Adding to the challenge is that any piece of equipment is susceptible to human error. In a busy hospital environment, for example, it’s not uncommon for macerators to become clogged by non-maceratable wipes or other inappropriate materials. That’s not to say hospital staff are knowingly misusing these important pieces of equipment, but instead that they may lack adequate training or awareness of the system’s limitations.
“For example, say you have a busy nurse who throws a glove or non-maceratable wipe into a macerator. That material may be able to pass through the machine, but it will likely get stuck in your pipes and lead to blockages that may impact other departments,” notes Balinsky. “At this point, the challenges becomes getting behind the walls to fix the issue and using alternatives like hygienic bags while your macerator is down.”
If the machine goes down frequently, she adds, hospitals need to bring them back online quickly and easily. That means working with macerators that are easy to service and having access to other solutions (e.g., hygienic bags) to ensure ongoing care needs are being met.
“After all,” says Balinsky. “Human waste still happens.”
No doubt, day-to-day human waste management poses ongoing challenges with no cookie-cutter solutions. Herein, having flexible options is a breath of fresh air.
A holistic solution
Just as the human body relies on harmonious systems to operate at peak efficiency, so too does human waste management run smoother when every component is in sync. In a hospital environment, that means human waste equipment and materials that are designed to work in tandem.
“Things go smoother when everything works together,” adds Balinsky. “The key is implementing a human waste management system made of components that complement each other, and are made to address a hospital’s unique needs.”
A case in point is AMG Medical’s MedPro Defense Waste Management System, an eco-system of human waste management products that make life easier, smoother, and more hygienic for hospital staff.
The system is defined by three core pillars:
- Flexibility: An easy-to-use mobile disposable waste containment system that can be implemented quickly in any location without access to a macerator and follow the patient throughout the hospital. Human waste is completely enclosed and this effectively eliminates exposure during transport and disposal (e.g., hygienic bags).
- Containment: A choice of mobile and fixed equipment for patient rooms that ensures human waste never leaves the individual patient’s zone.
- Sustainability: Every component within the MedPro Defense Waste Management System is designed to help reduce the amount of chemicals and detergents released in the environment, divert waste from landfills, reduce the waste that must be incinerated, and reduce the amount of fuel required for waste transport. These elements include universal medical-grade pulp containers, which are biodegradable and become a fine slurry, as well as moist and dry maceratable wipes, and oxo-bio hygienic bags that do not remain in landfills.
Notably, AMG’s MedPro Defense Waste Management system features Quattro Vanguard macerators designed by Haigh Healthcare, originators of the technology. In addition to being the quietest macerators on the market, the Quattro Vanguard combines superfine maceration technology, a controlled discharge system, and the patented Premium Flow to create a finer slurry, thereby mitigating the risk of clogged pipes and machines.
“Think of it as the difference between a lemon and a lentil,” explains Balinsky explains. “In some macerators, the opening out of the machine is 75-millimetres in diameters. So when it opens, anything that can fit through that hole can go into your pipes. Our technology is different; the openings are no bigger than 5-millimetres, so nothing larger than that is ever getting into your pipes.”
Noise is also a critical consideration. As such, AMG’s macerators were designed in collaboration with sound engineers to ensure they are quiet enough to be used within patients’ and not disturb their sleep.
Adaptable solutions
There is no silver-bullet for human waste management solutions. Here again, the answer to addressing this persistent healthcare challenge lies in finding the right technologies and materials for the right scenario.
“For us, it’s about offering a whole suite of options that can address specific human waste management problems — whether that’s a macerator with maceratable wipes in rooms that have the plumbing to support it, or disposable pulp containers and supports with hygienic bags in areas where that makes more sense,” says Balinsky.
“We are not advocating for a product,” she continues, “we are advocating for solutions to a common healthcare problem.”
AMG Medical is a Canadian-owned company focusing on the health of its valued customers. For more about AMG products and services, please feel free to visit www.amgmedical.com or call 1-800-361-2210.
