members ’ sacrifices day in and out .” It became evident to him there was so much more to accomplish within this critical ministry . This brought him to a tough choice in his career / life ; he could no longer serve two masters , an outsourced contractor , and the hospital system with its financial and spiritual needs .
Livesay recognized the wide chasm that affected patient and staff outcomes that could not be addressed with outsourcing EVS . The recognition quickly evolved into something that he had never imagined nor encountered : the most critical element of partnering with infection prevention professionals with EVS and rolling both disciplines up in and through infection prevention . He and his team recognized that each discipline lacked core processes , integration , understanding of each other , and collaboration .
One the most critical elements of a successful EVS program is partnering with infection prevention . As Livesay explains , “ When I first started developing a centralized and standardized EVS program at SJH , our partnership and collaboration with Dana Stephens , director of infection prevention and control was instrumental to our success . Connecting our two disciplines together I took us to another level of care . Our EVS team recognized the criticalness of partnering with infection prevention to improve core processes , integrate standardized program elements , reduce HAIs , and develop 3 Tier Cleaning Validation , with understanding of each other ’ s role within the organization in providing a clean , safe environment through collaboration as we help save lives .”
Livesay ’ s enthusiasm and questioning were contagious across the ministry . He was asked to sit on a Catholic Health Initiatives ( CHI ) committee to look at the profound and fundamental benefits of choosing the best solution for the system . CHI brought CEOs , CFOs , CNOs , and infection prevention , the best and brightest of their system EVS teams , materials management , clinical engineering , and many other discipline professionals to the committees formed .
This project was recognized to be a multi-year process , so a four-year program was developed . It was about then that Catholic Health Initiatives and Dignity Health decided they would merge into one organization , now known as CommonSpirit Health .
Livesay was ultimately promoted to serve as the national vice president of EVS on the ministry ’ s CHI side . Suffice it to say , the story of how CommonSpirit Health , Dignity Health , and Catholic Health Initiatives formed is not one of a lone EVS professional or the story of a handful of professionals dedicated to one task . Nor is it a story of a journey of pushing agendas while pushing people aside . It is a story of dedication , personal commitment , group pride in serving a ministry tasked with bettering the lives of those they minister to .
After the merger , ideas , proposals , concepts , discussions , plans , processes , and innovations did not slow down . In fact , they began to flow so swiftly that CommonSpirit Health had to hit a pause button to bring everyone up to where they had progressed . An avalanche of excellence was coming down upon them that it appeared to be the cause of missing the vision of system excellence needed to be accepted and embraced by all .
So , as Livesay notes , they had to “ literally hit the reset button , and we did the majority of our work at Houston ’ s Baylor Saint Luke Medical Center .” The reset button included the opportunity to step back and look at the rose bushes of their successes but allowed them to look at the thorns and weeds that were being overlooked by viewing only their successes . They needed to look at both ministry sides , CHI and Dignity , laying them side-by-side , and inculcate both teams successes , not only in the procedures , processes , and hands-on work of their teams , but also in the science behind the procedures , processes , and tools – standardized cart set-up , healthcare-grade ultra microfiber , professional laundry processes , chemicals , a new manual , and electric equipment , dwell times for disinfectants , knowing when to use disposables versus a reusable mop or wiper ( clinicians vs . EVS ), how to collect soiled laundry and how to distribute hygienic laundry . CommonSpirit Health returned to the drawing board for standardized processes and procedures . They are reviewing who does what when , how , and why . They are moving toward standardized best practices to be used in every one of their ministry locations from the largest Baylor Saint Luke facility where Rob Tussey , VPEI , T-CSCT , CNACC , is the director of EVS and national training manager for CommonSpirit Health , and where he finds his office today to the smallest outreach centers scattered throughout the U . S .
Livesay describes Rob Tussey as “ probably
To View CSH Pinwheel Program Foundations
To View CSH Life Saving Journey Overview HHM
To View Common- Spirit HGUM Definitions
one of the sharpest young men I ’ ve ever encountered in my life . He ’ s actually on the longest journey with me as we move through the symbiosis of two systems becoming one .”
Through the free exchange of information , combining years of experience , knowledge , and insight , they have moved forward to examining systemwide software for EVS and infection prevention . Through constant trials and testing , they are working with vendor partners to develop tools and processes that will benefit their teams , be environmentally safe for their facilities , and if discharged to the sanitary sewage systems , in municipal waste , or into biohazardous waste . They have taken it upon themselves to recognize their ministry as a responsibility to the Earth that God has entrusted to them . To use a much-overused term that is little understood today , they view their ministry , their business , and their lives holistically .
CommonSpirit Health recognizes that its responsibilities reach beyond the borders of their facilities . The CommonSpirit vision is to create highly engaged team members who perform their jobs based on the science behind what they do . They call it “ equipping their people to perform .”
By educating their people , they position them to provide quality service . And in providing quality , they need to understand the deliverables day in and day out of what they ’ re doing within the ministry .
When they understand their deliverables , their ministry , if you will , it ’ s not just about EVS , it ’ s not just about laundry or linen . It ’ s about the entire facility , the entire division in the ministry as a whole from a system standpoint . Teaching the teams all elements of the program gives them the tools to encounter others with integrity .
At the end of the day , they want to pursue excellence and being the best version of themselves day in and day out . It ’ s not just about why they provide a clean , safe environment . It ’ s doing their best to help save lives .
www . healthcarehygienemagazine . com • january 2021
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