Document Type
A3
Publication Date
10-2018
Institution/Department
Internal Medicine, Nursing, Maine Medical Center
MeSH Headings
cleaning patient rooms, environmental, inpatient, discharge patients, hospital leadership, goal, root cause, admission, patient discharge
Abstract
STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE THE TIME FRAME FOR CLEANING INPATIENT ROOMS BY ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES
In an inpatient rehab hospital, it was noted that Environmental Services (EVS) was delayed in cleaning rooms between patient discharges and admissions. This resulted in the frequent use of a “stat clean” order that allows only 50% of the normal cleaning time , forcing patients to wait and impacting patient flow.
A root cause analysis demonstrated lack of communication between the rehab hospital and the contracted cleaning services. A number of counter measures were initiated with the goal that cleaning would be started within 20 minutes of all discharge patients. As result of the countermeasures hardwired through KPIs, significant improvement was realized.
To sustain and hardwire the process to produce culture change, hospital leadership and EVS are committed to weekly meetings and the establishment of a formal partnership.
Recommended Citation
Dixon, Lora; Parker, Mark; Hanselman, Ruth; Nayak, Suneela; and Sparks, Amy, "Strategies to Improve Timeliness for Cleaning Inpatient Rooms Following Patient Discharge" (2018). Operational Transformation. 12.
https://knowledgeconnection.mainehealth.org/opex/12
