
ARLINGTON, Tex. –The City of Arlington, Tex., has achieved Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC) STAR accreditation, the gold standard for prepared facilities.
Arlington is the first U.S. city to be recognized for implementing the most stringent protocols for cleaning, disinfection, and infectious disease prevention at its public facilities under the guidance of GBAC, a division of ISSA, the worldwide cleaning industry association.
As the cleaning industry’s only outbreak prevention, response, and recovery accreditation, GBAC STAR helps organizations establish protocols and procedures, offers expert-led training and assesses a facility’s readiness for biorisk situations. The accreditation verifies the City of Arlington implements best practices to prepare for, respond to and recover from outbreaks and pandemics.
In all, the city received accreditation for 23 public facilities, including all recreation centers, golf course clubhouses, and libraries, City Hall, the Municipal Court and Esports Stadium Arlington + Expo Center.
“We are thrilled to have successfully demonstrated compliance with the program’s 20 core elements in order to attain the GBAC STAR accreditation. This third-party validation process will provide a sense of comfort to our customers that we are operating at the highest levels of cleaning and disinfecting as we welcome them back to our parks, recreation facilities, and other municipal buildings,” said Arlington parks and recreation director Lemuel Randolph.
To achieve GBAC STAR accreditation, the City of Arlington demonstrated compliance with the program’s core elements, which ranged from standard operating procedures and risk assessment strategies to personal protective equipment (PPE) and emergency preparedness and response measures.