When the Healthcare Surfaces Summit convenes at ISSA headquarters May 5-6, 2026, the conversations shaping the future of infection prevention will happen in a room filled with people who believe cleaning is far more than a checklist.

KleenMark, one of the event’s valued sponsors, is among the companies making sure those conversations are grounded in real-world application.

Michael Staver, chief operating officer of KleenMark, and Yuritzy Gonzalez, branch manager overseeing the company’s medical division, joined Linda Lybert, executive director of the Healthcare Surfaces Institute (HSI), a division of ISSA, to discuss what the summit means to them and why cleaning for health—not just cleaning for appearance—is the standard their company lives by.

A company built on healthcare cleaning

KleenMark has been in business for more than 65 years, beginning as a distribution company offering chemical consumables and equipment. Around 2000, the company expanded into cleaning services, creating a holistic model that Staver said has been the foundation of its growth.

“That model gives us all the controls to be not only a janitorial provider, but also a distribution organization and a full-on consultant for in-house providers as well as other BSCs,” Staver said.

Today, KleenMark operates with approximately 1,200 employees, is based in Wisconsin, and serves clients nationally. Sixty percent of its business is concentrated in medical and highly regulated verticals—organizations operating under GMP processes, quality audits, and certifications such as SIMS and ISO. Ninety percent of services are self-performed, with the remainder handled through preferred partners.

Gonzalez, who has been with the company for 15 years, oversees services in clinics, hospitals, biotech facilities, and clean rooms—the environments where the stakes of a missed clean are highest.

Clean 360: validating what the eye cannot see

KleenMark developed its Clean 360 program not only to guide its own teams but to serve as a training and consulting resource for others in the industry. The model begins with scope of work and SOPs, then moves through chemical selection, equipment, and training—but where it distinguishes itself is in what comes after the cleaning is done.

“We have the aesthetic, where we look at validation based off of joint inspections, what’s pleasing to the eye,” Staver said. “But then there’s beyond that, and that’s the surface testing.”

Through a partnership with Kikkoman Biochemifa Company, KleenMark performs ATP, AMP, and ADP testing to measure what is actually on a surface after cleaning—not just whether it looks clean. The distinction matters.

“Are we cleaning, which is technically just removing soil, or are we actually sanitizing, disinfecting, and making that space healthy and safe?” Staver said.

Gonzalez said that mindset shift is something she works to instill in every team member.

“For the past years, we’ve been used to: if it looks clean, it’s clean,” Gonzalez said. “But we don’t know that, especially in highly regulated areas. We need to go a step above that.”

She said she often poses a direct question to her teams to drive the point home: What if it was your mother getting an operation? What if it was your son?

“That kind of triggers something in your head,” Gonzalez said. “The life of the patient can be on our hands, especially for those hospital-acquired infections.”

A relationship built on raising standards

Lybert said the relationship between KleenMark and HSI goes back to the organization’s early days with ISSA. Staver was among the first people she worked with when HSI merged with ISSA, and she considers his company one of the great success stories she gets to share.

She recalled a situation where KleenMark was contracted to perform terminal cleans on operating rooms but was being asked to do the work within a timeline that would have compromised quality. Staver pushed back.

“He actually said, why do you want me to do this so quickly? I can’t clean it the way that you really want it done. So I either need more time or I need more people,” Lybert said. “That is a true EVS professional.”

She said she shares that story to empower other BSCs to advocate for what proper cleaning actually requires.

For Staver, the decision to align with HSI and ISSA came down to a shared mission: raising standards and creating consistency across a healthcare cleaning industry where, he said, everyone currently does things differently.

“When I met with Linda and I got to see what the vision was, that was what pulled us into it,” Staver said. “This is about getting consistency and what’s right. It’s cleaning for health.”

He was clear that for KleenMark, the work is not about efficiency metrics or cost savings. It is about making sure patients, clients, and their families feel safe—and are safe.

“We don’t want to just clean based off of a scope,” Staver said. “We want to clean for health.”

What the summit is building

Lybert said the Healthcare Surfaces Summit exists to address something most people in the industry don’t realize: there are currently no regulatory requirements that manufacturers of products, equipment, or surfaces be tested and validated for effective cleaning and disinfection.

“What we’re trying to do is clean what we cannot see,” Lybert said. “The protocols and the standards and the requirements around cleaning and disinfection really need to be set so that you can establish what the baseline for clean is and where the safety is.”

Among the announcements expected at this year’s summit is the unveiling of HEHP—the Healthcare Environmental Hygiene Professional credential—along with ongoing work around validation of testing, research, and evaluation of emerging innovations.

The summit is intentionally small—capped at 120 seats—because the format is built around active working sessions, not passive attendance. Lybert said attendees don’t just listen to speakers; they identify gaps, propose solutions, and leave with momentum.

“When we leave the summit, there’s actual work that will go on,” Lybert said. “We gain momentum as we collaborate together.”

The event is more than halfway full. For organizations working in healthcare environments who want to be part of defining what clean actually means—and proving it—registration is open now.

Go here and get your secure your spot!