Category Archives: Training

by | June 8, 2010 · 6:16 am

Hotel Industry Health And Safety Risks: “Bed Bug Infestations” Are Found In World Class And Small Hotels, Don’t Signify Unsanitary Conditions, And Are Difficult To Eliminate (Video)

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The National Pest Management Association (NPMA) issues a warning to millions of Americans who plan to travel this summer — beware of the bed bug. The NPMA has seen a 71 percent increase in bed bug infestations since 2001, mainly due to international travel.  These “hitchhiking” pests can easily travel home with people in their suitcases.  While bed bugs do not transmit diseases, their bites can become red, itchy welts.

“Travelers can unknowingly bring bed bugs into their homes, giving the pests a new place to live and feed,” said Missy Henriksen, vice president of public affairs for NPMA. “Bed bugs multiply quickly and can be difficult to eliminate.  We advise travelers to keep a few bed bug prevention tips in mind to avoid this most unwanted trip souvenir.”

A bed bug infestation is not a sign of unclean or unsanitary conditions. Bed bugs don’t discriminate and have been found in world class hotels and budget properties alike and wealthy neighborhoods as well as less affluent communities.

To prevent bed bug infestations, travelers should remember the following tips and check out this how-to video from NPMA:

·         Pull back the hotel bed sheets and inspect the mattress seams, particularly the corners, for telltale brownish or reddish spots. 

·         Thoroughly inspect the entire room before unpacking.  Do not put your luggage on the bed. 

·         If you change rooms, but choose to stay in the same establishment, be sure your new room is not adjacent to the possibly infested room. 

·         Use a large plastic bag to store your luggage.

·         When you return home, inspect and vacuum your suitcases thoroughly before bringing them into the house. 

·         Wash all your clothes — whether worn or not — in hot water.

·         If you suspect a bed bug infestation, contact a licensed pest professional.

For more information on bed bugs or to find a pest professional, please visit: www.pestworld.org.

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by | May 31, 2010 · 5:00 am

Hotel Industry Health Risks: Centers For Disease Control (CDC) Finds Serious Pool Bacteria Code Violations At 15% Of Over 16,000 Hotels, Motels And Resorts

The Centers for Disease Control and Control and Prevention found that, aside from childcare facilities, that 16,569 hotels, resorts and motels had the highest rate of closure due to serious code violations, mainly low disinfectant in the water to battle bacteria, about 15% or 1 in 6 hotel inspections.

Shigella and novovirus cause stomach and intestinal infections like gastroenteritis. Another microorganism found in pools is pseudomonas, which causes harmless but unsightly pustules on the skin.

To prevent closures or violations, hotel managers and staff should be using routine maintenance and sanitation, with frequent pool checks during high use when chlorine will get a work-out. Anyone, including a member of the hotel staff can check the pH level of the pool by using free test strips available from the Water Quality & Health Council (water levels should be within 7.2 to 7.8.)

For more:   http://industry.bnet.com/travel/10006301/cut-the-crap-the-dark-side-of-hotel-pools-and-how-to-manage-it/

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by | May 28, 2010 · 5:04 am

Hotel Swimming Pool Health Risks: Hotel Pools Are Extremely Unhealthy As Chlorine Is Neutralized By Sweat, Suntan Lotion And Urine

Fecal particles are a common factor, especially in kiddie pools and fountains where children frolic. But urine is also a problem: It contains nitrogen that eats up chlorine in pool water, depleting the supply. Sweat and suntan lotion have the same effect.

And about one in five adults admit they have peed in the pool, according to a survey of 1,000 Americans done last year for a chemical industry advisory group, the Water Quality and Health Council.

A new government report shows one in eight public swimming pools were shut down two years ago because of dirty water or other problems, like missing safety equipment.

Kiddie pools were most likely to be the germiest, from fecal matter and improper chlorination.

The report is based on more than 120,000 inspections of public swimming pools in 2008, including those in parks and hotels. It’s the largest study of the topic ever done by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which released the report Thursday.

For more:  http://www.fox41.com/Global/story.asp?S=12517797

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by | May 26, 2010 · 5:17 am

Hotel Pool And Spa Health Risks: Super Bug “Crypto” Causes Most Common Recreational Water Illness (RWI), Survives For Days In Chlorinated Water, And Can Be Prevented Only When Guests Shower Before Swimming

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 Healthy swimming expert Michael Beach warns about the superbug Crypto that causes the most common recreational water illness and suggests anyone with diarrhea should stay out of the water. The video explains that though we use chlorine to kill germs and protect our health, Crypto can survive for days in chlorinated water.

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The second of three videos produced by the Idaho Department of Health & Welfare to raise awareness of Recreational Water Illness and how to prevent them.

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by | May 24, 2010 · 2:47 am

Hotel Industry Health Risks: Wisconsin Hotel Kitchen Is Source For Gastrointestinal Illness Suffered By Hotel Guests At A Fund-Raising Luncheon

A norovirus usually comes on suddenly, with 24 to 48 hours of exposure, with symptoms lasting one or two days, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It can spread by eating food or drinking liquids or touching contaminated surfaces.

“…the Country Springs kitchen has been cleaned and kitchen staff have been informed about proper hand washing…”

Waukesha County health officials confirmed Monday that a norovirus is behind the outbreak of gastrointestinal illness reported by many of the 500 people attending a fund-raising luncheon last week at the Country Springs Hotel.

Julianne Klimetz, a county spokeswoman, said initial lab results confirmed the cause. In addition, investigators have confirmed that two people handling the food were ill at the time.

Health officials have not gotten reports of any secondary infection, in which someone who attended the lunch and became ill then spread it to someone else.

“It can be spread quite easily from one household member to another,” Klimetz said.

For more:     http://www.jsonline.com/news/waukesha/93988304.html

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by | May 18, 2010 · 5:24 am

Hospitality Industry Food Safety Training: Foodborne Illnesses Cause About 5000 Deaths And Over 200,000 Hospitalizations Per Year (Video)

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Foodborne illnesses are responsible for more than 75 million illnesses, more than 230,000 hospitalizations, and approximately 5000 deaths each year in the United States. In Part 1, we show you 3 types of contamination and how improper handling can allow them to become dangerous to your patrons.

The Central District Health Department provides a series of  Basic Food Safety videos focusing on the causes, dangers and prevention of foodborne illnesses.

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by | May 15, 2010 · 4:33 am

Hotel Pool Spa Health Risks: Legionaires Disease And Pontiac Fever Outbreaks Associated With “Poorly Maintained” Pools And Spas

“…a combined outbreak of Pontiac fever and legionnaires disease at a hotel in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, associated with exposure to a poorly maintained hot tub. Ninety‐five percent of the mostly adolescent 107 ill people had Pontiac fever, and the remainder had legionnaires disease.”

Most aerosolized sources of bacterial‐contaminated warm water, including whirlpool spas, warm spring pools, decorative fountains, cooling towers, and industrial cleaning systems that use high‐pressure water, have been linked to outbreaks of Pontiac fever.

Because the hot tub had been heavily disinfected before analysis by investigators, the results of hot tub water cultures were negative, but the results of PCR for L. pneumophila were positive. As in many outbreaks, a minority (46%) of persons with Pontiac fever had elevated L. pneumophila antibodies.

http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/510394

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by | May 14, 2010 · 2:35 am

Hotel Industry Employee Injury Risks: Hotel Housekeepers Have “Higher Rates Of On-The-Job Injuries” According To Medical Journal

“…hotel employees — and especially housekeepers — have higher rates of on-the-job injuries, according to a report last year in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine…”

"...hotel employees — and especially housekeepers — have higher rates of on-the-job injuries, according to a report last year in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine..."

Housekeepers are prone to repetitive stress injuries from such continual work as changing sheets, washing bathroom floors and vacuuming, according to nine researchers who studied three years of government-required accident logs at five union-represented hotels.

(From a Chron.com article)    More surprising, however, is that Hispanic housekeepers had a proportionally higher rate of injuries than non-Hispanic cleaners, according to the study. The research didn’t address possible explanations for that.

The research was funded by the union Unite Here, which represents hospitality employees, but the problem also has captured the attention of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

It recently hosted a conference in Houston on health and safety issues facing Latino workers.

While OSHA doesn’t have a specific ergonomic standard — it was repealed by Congress in 2001 before it was scheduled to go into effect — the agency has the “general duty clause” as an enforcement tool. It requires that employers provide a safe and healthy place to work, Jordan Barab, deputy assistant secretary of labor for OSHA, said in a telephone interview.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/sixel/7002756.html

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by | May 11, 2010 · 6:17 am

Hospitality Industry Theft Risks: Hotel Surveillance Cameras And Guest “Identification” Procedures Are Best Deterrent To Property Theft

Gordon called the April 3 thefts at the Hampton Inns “very brazen, and quite frankly stupid,” given that the hotel lobbies have surveillance cameras.

In both cases, Gordon said, Cole checked in using a fake ID and paid in cash. Then he and Harrington left with flat-screens worth more than $1,000 each, Gordon said.

(From an AJC.com article)   Jonathan Cole and Brooke Harrington have been arrested by the Atlanta Police Department, Alpharetta police spokesman George Gordon said Friday.

Police were looking for Cole and Harrington after they hit two Hampton Inns in Alpharetta on a single Saturday. They also are wanted for similar thefts in Gwinnett County and the city of Norcross, Gordon told the AJC.

“We had been looking for them for a while … They hid out really well,” Gordon said. “This was a prolific crew traveling all over metro Atlanta area.”

http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/atlanta-police-nab-flat-522306.html

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by | May 9, 2010 · 6:08 am

Restaurant Food Safety: Oregon Restaurant Salmonella Poisoning Outbreak Highlights Risks Of Food Contamination And Need For Strict Food Preparation Safety Training

Salmonella, the most prevalent food borne pathogen in this country, is an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis, and arthritis.

Salmonella poisoning can also lead to Reiter’s Syndrome, a difficult-to-treat reactive arthritis characterized by severe joint pain, irritation of the eyes, and painful urination. Some Salmonella bacteria are antibiotic resistant, largely due to the use of antibiotics to promote the growth of feed animals.

“….76 million people each year come down with some form of food poisoning; hundreds of thousands are hospitalized and about 5,000 die…”

(From a NewsInferno.com article)   Dawnelle Marshall of the Public Health Division of the Douglas County Health Department said that the source of the outbreak remains unknown and that interviews continue with patrons of the restaurant who visited the establishment during the outbreak period in order to determine the outbreak’s timeline and origin, wrote KPIC.

“We’ve not been able to pinpoint the source, whether that is a food item, whether there is cross-contamination. We have not been able to do that, but we do have sampling that is pending, and those results should be in later this week,” said Marshall. Los Dos Amigos is cooperating in the investigation, added Marshall.

“They’re taking suggestions, they’re sharing information about how they process food, and what they do with foods. So until we know what that source is, it’s hard to evaluate what that potential cause can be,” said Marshall, quoted KPIC.

Marshall also said that some people have fallen very ill with dehydration that required intravenous fluids, reported KPIC.

http://www.newsinferno.com/archives/20114

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