Treatment Table Sanitization in a D1 Collegiate Athletic Training Facility Quality Improvement Project

Xavier University’s Cintas Center athletic training room houses several Division-1 collegiate athletics programs, including women’s volleyball. Athletes are able to receive first aid care and therapeutic treatment within the facility. The athletic training room experiences a lack of thorough sanitization protocol. According to research, this lack of sanitization can increase the risk of athletes contracting highly-infectious diseases such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, a contagious bacterial infection. The aim of this quality improvement project was to increase the frequency of treatment tables cleaned by the women’s volleyball team by at least fifty percent by November 30th of 2024. The project began with a consultation with the volleyball team’s head athletic trainer to gain approval to run the project within the facility. After approval, initial data was collected as a ratio of the number of tables used, compared to the number of tables cleaned. Once the initial data was collected, reminder signs were created and laminated by the team members. The signs were strategically placed near the treatment tables to remind the athletes of the sanitization protocol. Post-change data was collected randomly, in the same format initial data was collected, during the project run-period starting October 8th, 2024 through November 30th, 2024. On Day-1 of change, the athletes noticed the signs and were given one reminder to clean their tables after treatment. The first day showed a drastic increase in the frequency of times the treatment tables were cleaned. After Day-1, the frequency decreased to near-zero numbers without the reminder. The study displayed the need for implementation across multiple sports and the need for a daily reminder for athletes to sanitize their area. The findings of this study can be applied to inform future practices of improving healthcare facility cleanliness.