Healthcare Hygiene magazine September 2020 September 2020 | Page 30

During this
COVID-19
pandemic, many
industries,
not just
healthcare, are
redistributing
labor, investing
in more
personnel,
allocating
additional
resources
including
funding for
hand sanitizer,
cleaning
chemicals and
disinfectants,
awareness and
training.
It appears that
this is the “new
normal.”
•
According to the AHE trends and data
survey, more than half of all EVS directors
say they do not have enough staff for
their current workload and need more
full-time employees (FTEs). Unfortunately,
EVS is historically the first department to
receive the C-suite’s notice to tighten the
belt. Most of the EVS budget is labor,
followed by equipment and expendable
supplies impacted by the facility census.
Unfortunately, since EVS is not a direct
revenue-generating department, it is
considered an expense department. One
day, hopefully soon, administrations
across the world will recognize EVS for
what it truly is — an investment in quality
patient outcomes.
During this COVID-19 pandemic,
many industries, not just healthcare, are
redistributing labor, investing in more
personnel, allocating additional resources
including funding for hand sanitizer,
cleaning chemicals and disinfectants,
awareness and training. It appears that
this is the “new normal.” Rather than just
placing a new moniker to a different way
of doing things, it should be a wake-up
call for healthcare organizations, especially
post-acute facilities. Just because the
rest of the world is so focused on one
enveloped virus, does that mean that the
U.S. should follow suit and lose the focus
on the rest of the microbial jungle out
there? Pathogens much deadlier and more
resistant than SARS-CoV-2 are still present
and emerging. Healthcare professionals,
including infection preventionists (IPs)
and EVS, must not become myopic or
be as horses with blinders to keep their
focus only on one thing. Preventing the
spread of COVID-19 is essential, but so is
addressing multidrug-resistant organisms
and superbugs.
Fortunately, many world-class organizations
and health systems they are doing
just that. Also, programs like Doctors
Without Borders are working on domestic
(U.S.) soil in the much flailing post-acute
care systems for the first time in their
history. Their task force is providing vital
resources, boots-on-the-ground, to help
construct infection prevention and control
programs. They’ve seen firsthand in
Detroit and now Houston, where many
facilities receive a deplorable CMS survey
because they are without hand sanitizer,
proper tools, chemicals and equipment.
They have also seen dedicated employees
ready to learn and do what it takes to
protect our most tender and at-risk generation of loved ones.
In an upcoming article in the EvSOP series, Dr. Buffy Lloyd-Krejci
will provide a first-person account of what she has witnessed
and the steps needed in long-term care facilities. Alicia Cole will
share her experiences and feelings as a multiple HAI patient and
her patient experience perspective.
Alicia Cole may not be the first to tell that a patient needs a
knowledgeable advocate. She will not be the first to say that
patients need to use and demand that healthcare professionals
incorporate effective hand hygiene. Cole is not the first to know
the need for EPA-registered, hospital-grade disinfectants or the
need to use healthcare-grade ultra-microfiber wipe or mop.
But she is probably one of the first non-healthcare people to
advocate on a nation-wide basis to the public the necessity of
ensuring the healthcare environment is hygienic. Cole is one of
the few non-EVS populations that knows the proper sequence of
processing patient rooms and ORs. She advocates that EVS and
their MDT use those tools from top to bottom, cleanest to dirtiest,
clockwise or counterclockwise (unidirectional wiping). She will
address the inconsistencies personally seen between shifts and
technicians, and careless nurses that bump a bedpan that spills
everywhere. She can effectively and personally address instances
when a nurse or assistant does not have time to clean up urine
or feces, even in a bed. She will speak of the EVS technician who
feels for the patient and asks, “Do you mind if I come to clean
your room later so I can take the time to do a good job and
change my mop bucket water, so it’s not dirty for your room?”
Over the next few months, the EvSOP series will address each
component of a successful process and program that speaks
to the heart of every element that is vital for best patient and
healthcare worker outcomes.
Until next month, utilize the tools available on how to
calculate cleaning times through ISSA 612 that has taken
612 frequent tasks and benchmarked the appropriate time
required to accomplish them adequately. The list has expanded
with items added since the previous 540 list.
Implement the EvSOP playbook to ensure the whole MDT
is on the same page with service level agreements for each
MDT member and department. The purpose of a Service Level
Agreement (SLA) is threefold:
● Clearly represents the capabilities of the service.
● Establish a shared set of expectations regarding the operation
and support of the service;
● Provide performance measurements of the service
Let’s not forget, September is EVS Week; please let the
environmental services technicians, custodians, housekeeping
staff in whatever facility you frequent or manage, and let
them know just how important they are to you and the
clients they serve. After all, EVS isn’t just mopping floors, but
saving lives.
Aaron Jett is an EvSOP researcher for the Pearce Foundation
for Scientific Endeavors, as well as clinical solutions
manager for Cintas Corporation, where he is focused on Joint
Commission National Patient Safety Goals and achieving the
triple aim (CQO). Jett has a clinical background and is certified
in infection prevention and control, as well as serves as an
OSHA walkway auditor. He is also a trainer for the AHA/AHE.
30 september 2020 • www.healthcarehygienemagazine.com