When to Look for the DNR on Your Medical Cleaning Company

Is your medical cleaning company providing professional, effective medical office cleaning services? Or has the quality of service been in decline or completely flat lined? Or perhaps even worse, there was never the level of service you were hoping for and you’ve been forced to settle for less than optimal service? As a Facility Manager, we know that it is challenging to find a service that consistently provides quality cleaning, but effective medical cleaning is critical to any healthcare provider from the standpoint of both patient health and your overall reputation. A clean facility also helps retain top medical talent and can impact your HCAHPS scores. Now, there are numerous commercial cleaning companies that WILL clean your facility, but the number of commercial cleaners that CAN really do the job the way YOU need it done are in short supply. When looking at your facility, ask yourself some questions about the cleaning that goes on. Are the patient’s rooms thoroughly cleaned? Are the medical offices tidy, clean and well maintained? Are the restrooms in such a state that I would want to use them? If you answered no to any of these questions, it may be time to pay attention to that DNR sign on your medical office cleaning company.  

How Healthcare Cleaning Differs From Other Cleaning

Cleaning a medical facility and cleaning a general office share very few similarities, and rightfully so. Cleaning any location that provides health services requires a detailed and complete understanding of what “cleaning for health” really means. Further, healthcare cleaning comes with a number of complex and very stringent regulations and compliance requirements that have to be carefully observed. Without a janitorial service that is intimately familiar with these needs, the overall quality and your HCAHPS score could take a major hit. Even more than that, any commercial cleaning company that is truly ready to take on healthcare providers should have clearly laid down programs. Good examples include training like OSHA, HIPPA, and other Blood Borne Pathogen training. Any company that does not offer this training is clearly not going to give your medical office the cleaning it needs.

Telltale Signs Your Cleaning Company May be DOA?

Any industry will have cleaning companies that simply cannot meet the needs of their facility. This is especially important when considering the medical industry. It is an absolute necessity that a medical office cleaning company be able to deliver consistent, responsive, and complete medical cleaning to their respective facilities. Companies that are inexperienced or simply aren’t committed to meeting their promises take most if not all of the benefits of outsourcing your medical cleaning service. So, what exactly is it that medical cleaning companies that perform below industry standard do that hurts the health of your facility?

• Missing programs to ensure quality of service is often causing your medical cleaning company to fall below industry standard
• Not having a complete understanding of the necessary and often complex compliance codes that you facility has to follow
• The medical cleaning company does not have a consistent way of attracting high quality laborers
• Medical cleaning companies do not offer the training that is necessary to assure the safety of our employees and the cleanliness of your facility
• They have an unclear pricing scheme that makes it difficult to see what services are actually being provided at what process, both making it difficult to compare companies as well as to help manage a shrinking budget

Many janitorial companies will even gamble on your the health of your customers, your facility and your reputation by not having these systems in place, illegal subcontracting, and using undocumented labor.

What a Medical Cleaning Service Should Look Like

We’ve talked about what a subpar, unprofessional medical office cleaning company looks like. Now let's look at what a successful medical cleaning company, professionalism, communication, clear pricing, and evident training have in common. A successful medical company will always follow these best medical cleaning practices:

• Having a professional well trained staff and consistently attracting high quality laborers to add to it
• A lower than average janitorial turnover rate
• They offer a clear and comprehensive pricing plan that you are given to complete access to
• They walk through your facility and take time to specialize to meet the needs of your specific facility
• Works to meet the compliance needs unique to your facility
• Has a systematic and thorough quality assurance system in place
• They have a rapid and professional system in place to respond to problems
• Are fully aware of specific business practices and regulations at your facility BEFORE they begin working in it

You can tell when you have a best medical office cleaning company when they do all this and go even further to insure that they deliver quality, responsive janitorial services for an affordable price.

How to Find a Healthcare Cleaning Company That Gets It

The medical cleaning services that have figured out how to provide inexpensive quality service seem to be far and few between. So, how do you find one you might wonder? The name of the game is industry certification. Using the ISSA (International Sanitary Supply Association) to guarantee a high level of expertise, value, and reliability is the best way to find companies that follow the industries leading and best practices. This certification is referred to as CIMS, standing for Certified Industry Management Standard, and it is an invaluable tool in finding the perfect match for your medical office. This certification will translate into a company that is more professional, communicates better, and is more familiar and well versed in your healthcare facilities needs, whether it be an ambulatory, surgical, of clinical center, than any of the competition.

ISSA’S CIMS certification may not tell you exactly which company will be the perfect fit for your facility, but it will significantly shorten the list of companies that might. To get the most value out of CIMS, create a list of CIMS certified medical cleaning companies in your are and then do some research about which may be the best match for your medical center. Once you’ve narrowed it down, go and have your respective choices look at your facility and try to get a sense of which janitorial service will provide the most consistent, high level professional cleaning for the best price. To find an ISSA CIMS-GB janitorial services contractor in your area, visit the ISSA here.