John Weir – Healthcare Cleaning Professional

Housekeeping schedules should be planned, written and closely followed. Cleaning schedules should be developed according to the needs of each area. Without written routines and schedules your productivity and customer satisfaction are going to go up and down more often then a roller coaster.

A properly stocked cleaning cart will help prevent wasted trips to supply closets and should be equipped with any of the following items which are necessary for your work:

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The major difference between cleaning a medical facility and any other building is the focus on the un-seen enemy, bacteria. Environmental Service’s job is to not only provide good visible results, but to reduce the number of surface bacteria to a safe level in order to control cross infection. This is an extremely important responsibility because it keeps harmful bacteria from infecting the person next door or across the hall. Persons whose bodies are recuperating from surgery, injury or a primary infection are in a weakened condition and therefore, cannot put p their normal fight against harmful bacteria. A secondary infection in these cases can cause very serious illness.

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Here I continue to list cleaning standards. We use these as a guide to understanding our responsibilities in general cleaning. This is not meant to be a complete list, rather a broad overview. Enjoy your reading:

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Environmental Services (ES) is important to any business because the visible cleaning results create the first impression of a visitor or customer. You’ve probably heard that “the first impression is a lasting one” and there is a great deal of truth in that. Our job is to make that first impression a good one.

In addition to visible cleaning results, impressions are formed by the appearance of you, personally. Some important points to creating a good impression are:

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Cleaning and maintaining the built environment of a healthcare facility, or a building where healthcare services are delivered is driven largely by regulations and guidelines. These include regulations set forth by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA), The Joint Commission (TJC), the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), state and local agencies such as state health departments, and guidelines established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Other organizations providing guidelines include the Association for periOperative Nursing (AORN) for the operating room setting, the Association for Professionals in Infection Control (APIC) and the American Society for Healthcare Environmental Services (ASHES).

A standard of cleanliness must be created and taught.  You will find, as long as you remain in environmental services, that you will constantly learn new methods, procedures and requirements as this is dynamic and evolving occupation.

The standards of cleanliness must include protocols for consistent cleaning and disinfecting of all high touch areas and surfaces. Areas in need of less frequent cleaning because they are not a likely source of contamination should be identified and steps needed for cleaning various rooms must be identified and explained.

One of the organizations I am a member of, and actually the first that I joined, is the International Executive Housekeeping Association or IEHA.

Since 1930, the International Executive Housekeepers Association (IEHA) has been a non-profit organization committed to raising professionalism in the cleaning industry and providing a cleaner, safer, healthier environment.

IEHA members are Executive Housekeepers—managers who direct housekeeping programs in commercial, industrial or institutional facilities. IEHA provides members with an array of channels through which they can achieve personal and professional growth. Some are: leadership opportunities; resource materials; education program designation; employment referral service; a Technical Question Hotline (1-800-200-6342); networking; an annual convention and trade show, including several educational sessions; and a monthly trade publication, Executive Housekeeping Today.

Take a moment and learn more about our professional organization:

Change Begins With Choice

by Jim Rohn

Any day we wish; we can discipline ourselves to change it all. Any day we wish; we can open the book that will open our mind to new knowledge. Any day we wish; we can start a new activity. Any day we wish; we can start the process of life change. We can do it immediately, or next week, or next month, or next year.

We can also do nothing. We can pretend rather than perform. And if the idea of having to change ourselves makes us uncomfortable, we can remain as we are. We can choose rest over labor, entertainment over education, delusion over truth, and doubt over confidence. The choices are ours to make. But while we curse the effect, we continue to nourish the cause. As Shakespeare uniquely observed, "The fault is not in the stars, but in ourselves." We created our circumstances by our past choices. We have both the ability and the responsibility to make better choices beginning today. Those who are in search of the good life do not need more answers or more time to think things over to reach better conclusions. They need the truth. They need the whole truth. And they need nothing but the truth.

We cannot allow our errors in judgment, repeated every day, to lead us down the wrong path. We must keep coming back to those basics that make the biggest difference in how our life works out. And then we must make the very choices that will bring life, happiness and joy into our daily lives.

And if I may be so bold to offer my last piece of advice for someone seeking and needing to make changes in their life – If you don’t like how things are, change it! You’re not a tree. You have the ability to totally transform every area in your life – and it all begins with your very own power of choice.

To Your Success,

There’s really no such thing as knowing too much about what you’re doing. The reason’s I joined ASHES, ASHE, The American College of Healthcare Executives, IEHA and APIC are many but all focus on one thing, staying informed.

Staying informed is a daily task, and challenge, considering how quickly our world is moving. But not keeping up is like agreeing to check out – please don’t do that. Plug in and learn everything you can. You never know when information will come in handy.

If I hadn’t studied,  I wouldn’t have been able to see the great opportunity that led to my first big success.

Resolve to move forward and to learn as much as you can – today and every day.