The science of medical cleaning is continually evolving and so too must commercial medical cleaning companies. For many Facility Managers and cleaning services alike this means balancing health and safety, quality service, and budgetary concerns.
The coronavirus pandemic adds an additional layer of complexity to this already challenging problem — how do you implement a solid health-based cleaning solution and offer medical disinfection services that won’t break your budget?
Industry experience and proper training are the two largest factors in improving service quality and reducing cost, something that the most effective and experienced medical cleaning services can provide.
Effective Medical Cleaning Can Help Meet HCSHPS Requirements In A Cost-Conscious Way
As our understanding of health-based cleaning grows, HCSHPS regulations become more stringent and specific forcing companies to provide higher quality cleaning and disinfection services.
Likewise, Facility Managers are put in a position where they need to find medical cleaning services that can meet both their own and the HCSHPS requirements. Not only is this time consuming but more often than not an expensive endeavor making it all too tempting to cut corners with a subpar service provider.
In the midst of a pandemic, however, the last thing you want in your medical building is a commercial cleaning service or medical disinfection services that do not consider the health of your staff and patients seriously.
When trying to balance quality and price experience matters. Effective training and screening not only helps create consistent service, it also streamlines and optimizes processes using less time and resources.
Further, industry professionals understand the importance of communication and will always address problems before they spiral out of control into a large, expensive mess. If you are working with a reduced facility budget it is even more critical to partner with a medical cleaning company that can maximize the dollars you do have.
“Medical” Cleaning Versus Medical Cleaning
Health care Facility Managers know that managing medical facilities comes with a host of stringent requirements unique to the healthcare field.
All too often, however, prospective commercial cleaning services don’t seem to share the same degree of understanding.
Meeting HIPAA, OSHA, Blood-Borne Pathogen and COVID requirements is absolutely critical in the healthcare industry and impossible with a service provider that doesn’t understand the details of each requirement.
More often than not “medical” cleaning and disinfection services are rebranded commercial cleaning companies looking to tap into a new market.
If your prospective provider isn’t an industry veteran with a history of reputable and effective service delivery in medical cleaning, they are not worth your consideration.
Don’t take a risk on the health of your building, staff and patients, especially during an unprecedented pandemic.
What Professional Medical Cleaning Services Are Doing to Protect During Coronavirus
Any professional medical cleaning service needs to be updating their cleaning and disinfection programs to meet EPA and CDC disinfection guidelines for COVID-19.
For most top-tier service providers, this includes three major additions and changes to their existing cleaning programs:
- Updating disinfection procedures to use the EPA’s List N disinfectants. These disinfectants are rated against coronavirus and drastically reduce viral load on hard surfaces while following manufacturer dwell-time recommendations.
- Effective medical disinfection services should have an emergency outbreak plan in place following CDC guidelines. While details vary by facility, the plan must follow official CDC response procedures.
- All frontline staff should be equipped with PPE (personal protective equipment) to minimize transmission risk. This includes masks, gloves, sanitizers and company policies requiring infected employees to stay home.
Much of health-based cleaning is about preparedness. The more ready your medical janitorial service is to handle problems, the less likely issues are to arise and the smoother they can be resolved if they do.
Don’t risk partnering with a subpar provider that abandons service during an outbreak. Choose a reputable provider that understands healthcare facility requirements.
The Right Medical Janitorial Service Makes All the Difference
Finding the right medical cleaning company can be challenging, but protecting the health of staff and patients should always be the top priority.
Not every medical cleaning company or medical disinfection service is equipped for the job. The right commercial cleaning partner can make a major difference in service quality, consistency and price.
If you're unsure how to evaluate providers, CIMS and CIMS-GB accreditation can help.
CIMS certification is a rigorous process requiring cleaning companies to demonstrate compliance with industry best practices and standards.
A CIMS or CIMS-GB certification indicates that a cleaning company has implemented systems designed to deliver reliable, high-quality service.
While not every certified company will be the perfect fit, certification helps confirm they understand regulatory requirements, have outbreak mitigation procedures in place, and can deliver service within your budget.
