TopClean 60 MULTIWASHER CLEANS FIRST AID TRAINING MASKS
Saving lives is all part of a day’s work for the German Red Cross (abbreviated as DRK in German) in Ortenau, whether that involves outpatient care, rescue services or emergency care. But what about the times when other people get to the scene of an accident before the DRK? So that this question doesn’t remain unanswered, each year numerous first aid courses are offered in Offenburg and Lahr where emergencies are played out. ‘Little Anne’, the faithful CPR manikin, is relentlessly at work when it comes to practicing vital mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
‘Little Anne’, the faithful CPR manikin, is relentlessly at work when it comes to practicing vital mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
But each user needs a fresh, clean ‘Anne’ without any traces of the person before them. That’s why DRK Ortenau opted for the TopClean 60 multiwasher from MEIKO.
ACHIEVING OPTIMAL HYGIENE
Cleaning the training masks used to be a real challenge. In Lahr, a household washing machine was used – a difficult undertaking that took up to three hours per cycle and unfortunately did not meet hygiene requirements.
The situation in Offenburg was similar: Long wash times and hours-long drying phases resulted in cleaning often having to be put off to the weekend. This made flexible working impossible for a long time. Things quickly changed once both locations introduced the TopClean 60 appliance.
Pascal Koffer, lecturer on psychosocial emergency care for the DRK and former training supervisor
‘We requested a budget for the appliance, which was approved immediately,’ reports Joachim Hurst, executive board DRK Ortenau. Since 2016, his full-time colleague Sandra Leppert (training supervisor) and his colleague Markus Herr (trainer) have worked with the TopClean 60 multiwasher in a specially established hygiene room.
Pascal Koffer, previous training supervisor in Offenburg, also appreciates the new level of flexibility: ‘Using the TopClean multiwasher has enabled us to reprocess the masks while we’re doing other work, so it's a job we can do ‘on the side’. That’s mainly because the appliances only take six minutes to complete a wash cycle and the masks can be packed up almost straight away because there are no long drying periods.’
SMALL MACHINE, BIG IMPACT
An impressive amount of used masks accumulates during the training courses held by DRK Ortenau. Each week, between 350 and 400 masks have to be cleaned and disinfected. Following training, they pile up in the ‘dirty area’ of the hygiene room and then undergo cleaning in a TopClean 60 rack developed specially for the masks. After just a short time, the masks leave the appliance clean, disinfected and ready for use. The transport boxes in which the masks are stored go through the same process.
According to Joachim Hurst, cleaning and disinfection of the masks for the DRK is done in record time, which comes in handy for him and his colleagues: ‘We are currently going on the offensive when it comes to advertising our first aid courses. We’ve now even organised a course for deaf people and provided the trainer with a sign language interpreter,’ says Hurst.
SUSTAINABLE AND EFFICIENT
In addition to time saved, sustainability also plays a major role. The appliances are very resource-efficient, as they require very little water. They are also extremely easy to use, which lightens the team’s load and frees up space for other tasks.
A GLOWING CONCLUSION
Ortenau district training supervisor
The introduction of the TopClean 60 truly did wonders at DRK Ortenau. The result: clean masks, fast processes and satisfied participants.
And ‘Little Anne’? She smiles after each flawlessly hygienic cleaning process – glowing brighter than ever. Always ready to prepare the next first-aiders for an emergency.
Because according to Sandra Leppert, one thing is certain: ‘Peoples willingness to be able to help in critical situations is as strong as ever, thank God.’ And with the right equipment, DRK Ortenau can accomplish this important mission even better.
