The Joint Commission Survey Update

ByJohn Weir

We had our “long awaited” Joint Commission Survey the beginning of this week. It seemed like forever, waiting for them to arrive… not really. While it might have seemed like a long time, it really was just another week for a hospital that prides itself on being the best possible caregiver to meet the physical, and spiritual needs of the community.

Environmental Services is the department that cleans, disinfects, and fights infection in every hospital. ES for short, is a department that touches every aspect of a healthcare facility, every patient, every staff member and every visitor. My team is no different, but we try to be different in one aspect; we don’t “get ready” for survey’s like The Joint Commission, or CMS, we practice survey readiness everyday.

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When should the Environment be Cleaned

ByJohn Weir

Another Question and Answer Q. When should the environment be cleaned and disinfected? A. Housekeeping surfaces (e.g., floors, table tops) and other environmental surfaces should be cleaned and disinfected regularly, when spills occur, and when these surfaces are visibly dirty. Follow your facility’s schedules for routine cleaning and disinfection and for terminal cleaning of rooms…

Infection Control Training for Healthcare Environmental Services

ByJohn Weir

Highlighting common scenarios from hand hygiene and glove use to properly cleaning patient rooms, this video will illustrate the type of precautions that housekeeping staff should take to protect themselves and patients from germs and infections that could make them sick.

Clostridium difficile Infection (C. diff, CDI, C. difficile)

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What is Clostridium difficile? Clostridium difficile is a spore-forming, gram-positive anaerobic bacillus that produces two exotoxins: toxin A and toxin B. It is a common cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhea (AAD). It accounts for 15-25% of all episodes of AAD. Clostridium difficile is a bacterium that may develop due to the prolonged use of antibiotics during…

Environmental Services

ByJohn Weir

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…

Managing Discipline and Dealing with Conflict

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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…

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