A spic and span hospital environment (on a both surface and molecular level) is an indisputable must in order to promote patient health, lower Healthcare Acquired Infection (HAIs) rates, keep regulatory agencies such as Joint Commission at bay, and score highly on the “always clean” portion of the HCAHPS survey.

Despite the central role an Environmental Services department plays in a hospital’s successful functioning, running such a department in-house can be full of built-in headaches such as:

  • Keeping up to date with training requirement amidst high staff turnover.
  • Dealing with erroneous work comp claims.
  • Finding a qualified EVS director familiar with government healthcare regulations.

Every hospital management team wants a highly efficient and effective EVS department but not many want to invest the time, money, and effort required to keep this department running smoothly. It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise then that hospital C-levels long to dump these problems in someone else’s lap but hesitate to do so because they are, very rightly, concerned about quality control. “If I outsource, how can I assure that the quality of work from my EVS department will go up not down?”

This fear of handing over control to a third party often serves to keep EVS in-house until strong pressures, usually financial, cause a hospital to more seriously consider outsourcing medical cleaning as a viable option. Here are eight reasons why outsourcing should improve your hospital environment.

1. Outsourcing saves you money.

One of the major advantages of outsourcing is a guaranteed level of cost-savings. Outsourcing can allow a hospital to forecast their budget because EVS becomes a fixed cost. However, cutting costs is only one reason to outsource. There are many more.

2. Outsourcing improves safety.

When you outsource your cleaning services, it removes an added worry from your team, who can now focus on customer care. A focused team and a certified provider can ensure that safety standards are met and your patients are adequately taken care of.

3. Outsourced providers are experts.

Experienced providers know which cleaning processes and procedures are the most effective. The right provider will have superior products and equipment.

4. Outsourcing ensures inspection readiness.

Consistent services ensure that your building is ready for an inspection at a moment’s notice.

5. Outsourced providers are compliant.

An outsourced cleaning provider should hold their staff accountable to strict compliance standards so you don’t have to. This is especially important in a medical setting that is inspected regularly.

6. Outsourced providers offer ongoing staff education.

An outsourced providers main focus should be the development of their team. Ongoing training will ensure that staff members know how to handle emerging pathogens, for example COVID-19. It also prevents staff members from repeating the same mistakes.

7. Outsourcing eliminates benefit expenses.

When you outsource, you don’t need to account for payroll costs like PTO, worker’s compensation, HR services and the costs of hiring and firing.

8. Outsourcing eliminates the need for an Environmental Services Director.

Finding someone who is qualified can be a challenge. A cleaning provider that specializes in medical cleaning should have an on staff environmental services director who is a certified. OctoClean does!

I emphasize the word ‘should’ in the above section because not all outsourcing is the same.

Many companies who offer outsourcing have focused entirely on cost-cutting and have lost sight of the overarching goal of keeping patients safe and creating a healthy environment conducive to recovery. Don’t get me wrong, affordability is great but if it is our penultimate goal, too many other important things go by the wayside.

If you choose wisely, you can have such a positively surprising experience that you may find yourself actually becoming excited about EVS. Excited about EVS? Unlike the magical leprechauns and the tooth fairy, this is not a fairytale.