Medical office cleaning is completely different from general office cleaning. While everyone wants an office to look clean, an office tending to the medical needs of the public must go beyond the surface. It cannot just LOOK clean, it must BE clean. Healthcare Acquired Infections (HAIs) and other communicable diseases present a potentially serious issue in medical facilities. As people come in, even for minor issues, the risk of them picking up another illness is significant. When medical offices are not adequately cleaned, people get sick and even die. Now, lest this sound too dire, know that adequate cleaning measures are VERY effective against the spread of disease-causing germs. But is your current healthcare cleaning company doing what they need to in order to protect your patients, practitioners and your facility’s valuable reputation? Unfortunately, far too many janitorial companies WANT your business but are NOT PREPARED to deliver the consistent, effective service you need. Medical office cleaning needs more than a generalist, it needs a specialist—a commercial cleaning company that has worked hard to acquaint itself with the specific requirements and needs of the complex healthcare industry.
Every facility manager wants a clean, professional and welcoming office. But in a healthcare setting, there is just so much more on the line. There is the perception of care by the patient and his or her family. There is the heightened risk and worry over HAIs and other communicable illnesses. There is the risk of sick people getting sicker at YOUR facility. Finally, there is the perception and well being of your staff. While your medical office cleaning may amount to a fraction of your facility’s complete budget, it influences nearly every aspect of your operations. Think about how many places poor cleaning can compromise your facility. From your standing with physicians, staff, patients and families, you ability to attract top talent, the potential impact on employee productivity and turnover, to infection control, patient health and surgical outcomes-- a clean, hygienic healthcare facility is critical.
If a medical office cleaning company wants your business, they must make it their business to understand your requirements and their part in keeping you compliant. You are, of course, an expert on your business and industry. Your commercial cleaning company doesn’t have at be an expert in your business but if they do not have at the very least, a basic understanding of medical cleaning and the compliance issues you must attend to, they just aren’t set up to succeed. Hospital cleaning and medical office cleaning require a level of expertise that not enough commercial cleaning companies demonstrate. Is your medical office cleaning company familiar with the requirements of HIPPA, OSHA, blood-borne pathogens and other regulatory issues? Do they train their employees for safety around blood-borne pathogens? You, your patients and employees deserve medical cleaning that won’t put health and safety at risk. Commercial cleaning companies worthy of your business should understand HIPAA and require training in blood borne pathogens, train on cleaning for health and medical cleaning best practices. The better the training provided, the better chance you have of effective, responsive service.
As a Facility Manager, cost-savings are important but must be balanced with patient safety, the reputation of your facility, the satisfaction of your staff and more. If your hospital cleaning company is offering prices you want but services that fall short of what you really need, you are not getting value. Price is what you pay, value is what you get. The danger of selecting medical office cleaning with only cost in mind is you can end up with services that fall short of what you need and a cleaning company unprepared for the rigors and requirements of medical cleaning. You can't choose just anyone to do your medical cleaning. Really, would you want a general physician performing your heart surgery? The most capable and proficient healthcare cleaning companies are not likely to be the least expensive but they can work with you to keep you costs in line with your budget and create real value for your facility.
The old adage is “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail” and it still holds water. Listen, cleaning in a healthcare facility isn’t something you can execute well without a plan and formal processes and systems that assure reliability through accountability. Does your medical office cleaning company have a plan?
Managing a medical facility and medical offices requires a great deal of knowledge and skill. The current regulations and compliance requirements add to the complexity and make it ever more critical that you partner with those companies who understand how to support and serve your overall operational goals. Do not make your already difficult and demanding job harder by contracting with janitorial companies either too inexperienced or too lazy to make your business their business.
Stathakis operates right here in South Eastern Michigan delivering effective, professional medical cleaning services. You might say our “treatment plan” on medical cleaning vastly outperforms that of our competition. If you want the most effective health care cleaning services for your facility delivered with value and responsiveness, please contact us and we can work with you to put together a clear, straightforward, workable plan for your individual facility.