Beyond the Surface - an ISSA Podcast
Beyond the Surface - an ISSA Podcast
ISSA
The Healthcare Surfaces Institute (HSI) presents Beyond the Surface, a compelling podcast exploring the foundational role of surfaces in healthcare environments and their impact on patient safety. Each episode delves into key topics like Healthcare Associated Infections (HAIs), surface contamination, innovative materials, the role of surfaces in healthcare environment and how and why they support or hinder effective cleaning and disinfection practices. Featuring healthcare professionals, infection control experts, materials scientists, and HAI survivors, this podcast blends powerful personal stories with expert insights to drive the critical changes that need to take place for improved infection prevention. Tune in to gain valuable knowledge and help create safer healthcare environments.
The Surface Problem No One Owns in Healthcare
In this episode, we dive into a completely overlooked surface and discuss a comment that was made recently as a person tried to understand what do surfaces have to do with EVS and cleaning and disinfection. Justin McKay, Co-Founder of RadCare Services, shares the personal story that sparked his mission to change how healthcare systems approach cleaning, disinfection, and accountability. After experiencing a preventable infection from shared protective equipment, Justin uncovered a widespread ...
Jun 5
26 min
Understanding UV Disinfection Technologies
In this episode, Linda Lybert sits down with Peter Gordon, Board of Education member, UV industry veteran, and volunteer with UV4Good, a nonprofit dedicated to education around photonic disinfection. Together, they unpack the complexities healthcare leaders face when choosing and using UV systems. Peter breaks down: The different types of UV emitters (LED, mercury, xenon) and what they’re actually good forWhy line‑of‑sight, room layout, and human behavior can make or break effectivenessHow to...
Feb 4
31 min
Building a Culture of Prevention
In this episode, public health leader and combat veteran Aaron Woodall joins Linda Lybert to explore the importance of collaboration across infection prevention, environmental services, and nursing teams. Together, they discuss how shared accountability, education, and proactive leadership can reduce healthcare-associated infections and strengthen safety culture in every facility.
Nov 6, 2025
30 min
An Expert’s View From the Hospital Bed: Inside the ER Experience
In this episode of Beyond the Surface, Dr. Gavin Macgregor-Skinner shares what it was like to spend 14 hours as a patient in a busy hospital emergency department. From observing cleaning practices to noticing gaps in infection prevention and staff training, Gavin offers a rare dual perspective—both as a healthcare safety expert and as someone receiving care. Together with host Linda, they discuss the unseen risks patients and families should be aware of, the importance of environmental servic...
Sep 12, 2025
27 min
Why Clean Environments Save Lives: Patient Safety & Environmental Services
In this episode, we sit down with Iris Verdi, Director of Strategic Accounts for Healthcare at KBS, to explore the critical role of environmental services in patient safety. With more than 25 years of experience in hospital operations and EVS leadership, Iris shares how the focus in healthcare has shifted from “looking clean” to ensuring true disinfection and compliance. She opens up about the ongoing challenge of balancing patient flow with thorough cleaning, her personal experience as...
Aug 29, 2025
22 min
The Disease Detective: Making the Invisible Visible in Healthcare Cleaning
In this insightful conversation, Dr. Gavin Macgregor-Skinner, trained epidemiologist and senior director of the Global Biorisk Advisory Council™ (GBAC), joins Linda to explore the critical gap between regulatory compliance and real-world cleaning practices. From navigating FDA requirements to addressing on-the-ground challenges in hospitals, Gavin shares stories from the front lines—including a transformative project in Fiji that reduced hospital-acquired infections through practical, m...
Aug 13, 2025
28 min
The Hidden Threat: Understanding and Combating Biofilm in Healthcare Environments
Biofilm may be invisible, but its impact on patient safety is anything but. In this eye-opening episode, Dr. Rodney E. Rohde returns to discuss how biofilm forms, why it's so resilient, and the critical role surfaces play in infection prevention. From bulletproof microbial communities to overlooked environmental factors like drywall and fabric, this conversation dives deep into the science—and the solutions—behind safer healthcare environments. Plus, learn why no single disinfectant is enough...
Jul 2, 2025
21 min
Proving the Power of Clean: Validating Disinfection in Healthcare with Mike Staver
What does it take to truly validate cleaning in healthcare? Join Linda Lybert and KleenMark COO Mike Staver as they reveal how real-world data and rigorous protocols are raising the bar for infection control and patient safety. This eye-opening episode dives into the science and strategy behind effective healthcare cleaning, spotlighting KleenMark’s rigorous case study and the critical role of data-backed practices in transforming outcomes.
Jun 4, 2025
24 min
The Challenge of Cleaning Medical Devices: A Case Study on Potential Patient Risks
Cleaning and disinfecting medical devices and patient care equipment is challenging at best. In this segment, Barbara Strain and Linda Lybert discuss the case study “Surface disinfection incompatibility with medical devices creates potential patient risks.” This deep dive provided key insights and gaps that need to be addressed.
May 7, 2025
26 min
Surviving HAIs: A Personal Journey from Infection to Advocacy
Did you know that 1 in 20 people who seek medical care will acquire an infection completely unrelated to what they sought care for? In this podcast, Jeanine Thomas, shares her HAI survivor story after battling multiple life-altering infections. She has taken her experience and turned it into advocacy as a founder of the MRSA Survivors Network. Glossary of Terms: • HAIs, or Healthcare Associated Infections, are infections that a person acquires entirely unrelated to the original reason ...
Mar 20, 2025
27 min
Load more