Environmental Services

Another Question and Answer: Q. In the healthcare or residential setting, what does the “environment” or “environmental surface” mean? A. The environment refers to the patient or resident’s surroundings. When we talk about cleaning the environment, typically we are referring to cleaning and disinfecting objects, like housekeeping surfaces (e.g., floors, tabletops) and medical equipment. It…

I Love to Get Up Early

5 practical reasons to get up early everyday: Productivity– Waking early gives us a head start on our goals.  We have the time, the solitude, and the space to think clearly and really get absorbed in our goals.   Momentum– Waking early gives us higher level of momentum. If we start the day productive, we…

MicroFiber Cleaning Tools

It was more than five years ago that we changed from cotton towels and mops to microfiber towels and mops. The difference has been dramatic. Fresh mops for each patient rooms instead of going to the closet and dumping your big bucket every three rooms. Towels that clean better and don’t deactivate the disinfectant. Less…

Study: Healthcare-acquired infections down but still a problem

Inpatient infection rates are down, but there is still more work to be done. In a report released Friday, the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council said 21,319 of the 1.89 million patients admitted to Pennsylvania hospitals in 2010 acquired an infection. That is a rate of 1.13 percent, down from 1.20 percent the previous…

Saturday Special

                  “Don’t join an easy crowd. Go where the challenge is great and the emotions are high. Go where the expectations are so strong that they provoke you, push you, and urgently insist that you not remain in one place. That way, you will grow and change.”…

Training Staff Part 1

The goal of any Environmental Services Department within a healthcare facility should be to prevent the spread of infectious agents among patients and healthcare workers by meticulous cleaning and appropriate disinfection of environmental surfaces. To reach this goal, the EVS department will need to have a comprehensive training program, the objective of which should be…

Key Skills

You need to develop and improve your managerial skills on an ongoing basis as your career develops and as you meet new managerial challenges. Whether you manage a department or a project team, it’s important to know how to get the work done right. When you’re asked to achieve something with the help of others,…

Managing Discipline and Dealing with Conflict

Sometimes, despite your best efforts, there are problems with individual performance. As a manager, you have to deal with these promptly. If you don’t discipline, you risk negative impacts on the rest of the team as well as your customers, as poor performance typically impacts customer service, and it hurts the team and everything that…

Understanding Team Dynamics and Encouraging Good Relationships

Good management means understanding how teams operate. It’s worth remembering that teams usually follow a certain pattern of development. It’s important to encourage and support people through this process, so that you can help your team become fully effective as quickly as possible. When forming teams, managers must create a balance so that there’s a…