Technical writing. there is two samples of the homework.. student wa7 and english2311 are sample
Determining the Benefits of Purchasing a Foot Operated Hand Sink
Prepared for
Dr. Andrew Hingle
By
Ima Student
October 2, 2021
4252 Ursula Lane
Dallas, TX 75243
October 2, 2021
Dr. Andrew Hingle
Pain Clinic Business Manager
1000 Communications Pkwy Ste 400
Plano, TX 75093
Dear Dr. Hingle:
I have submitted my proposal, which supports purchasing a foot operated hand sink for our clinic. Compared to last year, we have had considerably more patients informing us that they are sick or directly exposed to someone positive with COVID over the last few months. It is imperative that our clinic takes more cautious steps to decrease the chances of transmissibility, while still providing the standard of care to our patients who are in pain.
One of the ways our office can decrease the transmissibility of the coronavirus is to purchase a foot operated hand sink in Room 3, which serves as our pre-op and post-op room. Usually, patients first go into Room 3 to get undressed and into their hospital gowns. Before doing so, we can have our patients make sure they wash their hands for 20 seconds in a foot operated hand sink before getting undressed.
In the proposal, I discuss why the clinic should emphasize hand washing over simply using hand sanitizers with supporting research. The staff can also wash their hands in the foot operated hand sink after cleaning each dirty bed. By having the sink be hands-free, we are avoiding extra chances of contamination as well as conserving water. I have provided a couple of options of foot operated hand sinks that are financially reasonable.
If you have any questions regarding the proposal, please do not hesitate to reach me at (214) 555-6313. I greatly appreciate your consideration of my proposal.
Sincerely,
Ima Student
Ima Student
Enclosure: Proposal
Table of Contents
Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………….. 1
Data Section …………………………………………………………………………………. 1
Importance of Hand Washing During COVID-19 Pandemic …………………………... 1
Different Brands of Foot Operated Hand Sinks ……………………………………...… 3
Conclusion …………………………………………………………………………………... 4
Works Cited ………………………………………………………………………….……… 6
Introduction
In 2020, the accelerated number of COVID-19 cases in the United States led to an abrupt shut down of many businesses, including elective surgeries. The importance of hand hygiene was strongly emphasized to the public. This led to a national shortage of hand sanitizers, anti-bacterial soaps, alcoholic wipes, and other cleaning products. Many outpatient clinics replaced in-office appointments with telemedicine to practice social distancing and still provide their patients essential care. When ambulatory centers and outpatient clinics were allowed to open to 25-50% capacity to perform elective procedures, patients were mandated to wear masks and asked to answer screening questions for COVID-19, either verbally or in writing. Only patients were allowed to enter the facility; their drivers were required to remain in the car. Hand sanitizers were placed conspicuously at the entrances, exam rooms, and check-out counters.
In early 2021, the number of COVID cases slowly decreased. This was most likely attributed by the distribution of the federal approved Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. As health-care workers and patients got vaccinated, the COVID-19 precautions in businesses slowly became more lax. In some states, mask wearing became recommended for vaccinated people as opposed to required. The steady decline of COVID cases since January 2021 encouraged businesses to open at full capacity and masks to not be worn. However, the emergence of the Delta variant, which is more contagious than its predecessors, has led to the significant increase in new COVID cases. To avoid shutting down the clinic and still be able to treat the patients who need their injections, a purchase of a foot operated hand sink for the pre-op and post-op room is proposed. This will significantly decrease the chances of transmissibility between patient and medical staff, allowing the medical staff to provide standard of care to the patients in pain.
This report will address the necessity of having a foot operated hand sink in a clinical setting. In the beginning, the importance of hand hygiene in preventing the spread of the delta variant is explored through medical research, specifically the prevalence of hand washing over hand sanitizing. Then the different brands and costs of foot operated hand sinks will be presented, with an overview of how a typical injection day at the clinic would be like with the foot operated hand sink present.
Data Section
Importance of Hand Washing During COVID-19 Pandemic
Besides wearing face masks, recurrent hand hygiene, which includes washing hands with soap and water and using hand sanitizer with more than 60% alcohol, is one of the best ways to reduce the transmissibility of COVID-19. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) highly recommends that people who are vaccinated continue to wear face masks. While the vaccines are still highly effective in preventing severe symptoms from the virus and death, vaccinated people can still get the virus. More importantly, they can still spread it to other people who may not be vaccinated. Therefore, the need for thorough hand hygiene is dire. Prior to the outbreak of the delta variant, research done in June 2020 showed that the majority of the targeted population was successful in practicing frequent hand hygiene. As shown in Table 1, most of the target population washed their hands and/or used hand sanitizers. The age group that frequently washed their hands and sanitized their hands were the elderly who were 65 years or older.
Table 1 Frequency of hand hygiene in different sex and age groups
The clinic currently has hand sanitizers in multiple places that are easy to reach for the patients. They are placed by the front door, in the waiting room, in each exam room, and on the check-out counter. While the clinic should continue to have the hand sanitizers conveniently present, the office should also have a hand washing station equally accessible to the patients during injection days. According to infectious disease experts, hand washing is more effective in removing germs compared to hand sanitizers.
Applying hand sanitizer is more convenient and quicker compared to hand washing. However, hand sanitizers may not kill all the bacteria and viruses on the hands, regardless of the alcohol content. Furthermore, some bacteria have started to show resistance to low concentrations of alcohol. On the other hand, hand washing physically and completely removes the germs off the hands. Instead of killing the germs themselves like the hand sanitizers, the soap and water destroys the surface membranes of the germs, including the SARS virus.
However, hand washing is most effective only if it is done correctly. Figure 1 shows the proper technique to hand washing. It is important to lather the hands with soap for at least 20 seconds and to make sure that the clean hands do not touch the sink tap again, as well as the bathroom door handle if there is one. Therefore, a foot operated hand sink is the best solution to avoid contamination as much as possible.
Figure 1 Proper hand washing steps
Different Brands of Foot Operated Hand Sinks
The clinic staff is most exposed to patients during injection days. Injection days are scheduled once a month on a Monday. Medical assistants will be in proximity with patients: going over their medical charts, taking their vitals, helping them get dressed into the hospital gowns, transporting patients into the adjacent operation room, removing their IVs after the injection, helping them get dressed into their regular clothes, and walking them out to their cars. While patients can keep their masks on during pre-op and post-op, they are required to remove their masks when they are in the procedure bed, laying face down for their spinal injections. Therefore, unlike regular follow up days, where patients always remain masked, the medical staff are exposed for a significant amount of time to patients during injection days.
Because the prime chance for transmissibility of the coronavirus occurs once a month on injection days, it is not necessary to install a whole new sink into the pre-op and post-op room. The clinic, for its small size and demand, does not need a full scrub sink like major hospitals have in the surgery rooms. Dr. Edward Smith does not allow injection days to exceed past twelve cases as well, to accommodate for his stamina and mental fortitude.
Therefore, instead of hiring a contractor to install a whole new sink and interfere with the pipeline infrastructure, I recommend that the clinic buys a single portable foot operated hand sink. Portable hand sinks are more cost effective compared to installing scrubs sinks. Most of the portable hand sinks are less than $1,000. More importantly, there is no need to be concerned about the cost of paying someone to install the sink and the quote of hiring a contractor to break down the wall and connect the new sink to preexisting water lines. 
Figure 2 is the Mobi Portable Hand Washing Sink. It is operated with a foot pump, so it is hands-free. With its non-marking wheels, the sink is easy to maneuver around the small pre-op and post-op room. Furthermore, the sink has a 17-gallon freshwater capacity. This means that on average, the Mobi Portable Hand Washing Sink can yield 275 hand washings before it needs to be replaced. That is more than enough capacity for our injection days. The sink also has a 37-gallon wastewater capacity, which is simple to remove and drain in the regular bathroom sink. Because of the wastewater gallon’s large capacity, the medical staff does not have to replace it in the middle of injections, disrupting the flow. 
Figure 2 Mobi Portable Hand Washing Sink
Figure 3 is Acorn’s Foot Pump Eco Portable Wash-Ware Hand Washing Station. Much like the Mobi Portable Hand Washing Sink, Acorn’s sink is easy to move around due to its wheels, which also can be locked with brakes. Furthermore, this particular sink comes with two 6.5-gallon tanks, one for freshwater and the other for wastewater. Unlike the Mobi Portable Hand Washing Sink, Acorn’s sink is made of stainless steel. To remove fingerprints, it is recommended to clean with a soft sponge along with dishwashing liquid, mild soap water, or club soda.
Figure 3 Acorn's Foot Pump Eco Portable Wash-Ware Hand Washing Station
Conclusion
With the alarmingly increased number of COVID cases starting this summer due to the high transmissibility of the delta variant, it is of the utmost importance that the clinic takes extra precautions to ensure the safety of the employees and patients. While the patients are instructed to wear their masks regardless of their vaccination status, it will be beneficial to tell them to wash their hands in the portable foot operated hand sink prior to getting into their hospital gowns on injection days. This will ensure that patients are not bringing any bacteria or viruses with them on their hands. Furthermore, the medical staff can wash their hands in between cases and after cleaning the beds. Hand washing is more effective and thorough in removing bacteria and viruses compared to hand sanitizers. This will protect the patients from possible infection as well. Having a single portable foot operated hand sink will be a worthy investment in ensuring the health of the patients and the staff overall.
Works Cited
Acorn Engineering Company. (2020). Foot Pump - Eco Portable Wash-Ware® Hand Washing Station. Acorn Engineering Company. https://www.acorneng.com/eco-foot-pump-portable-sink
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021, August 26). Delta Variant: What We Know About the Science. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/variants/delta-variant.html
Czeisler, M. E., et. al (2020). Demographic Characteristics, Experiences, and Beliefs Associated with Hand Hygiene Among Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic - United States, June 24-30, 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep, 69(41), 1485-1491. 10.15585/mmwr.mm6941a3
Portable Handwashing. (2021). MOBI Portable Hand Washing Sink, Heavy-Duty HDPE Plastic, High-Capacity, Non-Heated - MOBI-2. Portable Handwashing. https://www.portablehandwashing.com/products/mobi-portable-sink-heavy-duty-hdpe-plastic-high-capacity-non-heated-mobi2?dfw_tracker=90381
UCI Health. (2020). Soap vs. Hand Sanitizer. UCI Health. https://www.ucihealth.org/blog/2020/04/soap-vs-sanitizer
