The Power of Cleaning: Enhance the EVS Standards of UOFL Health – UOFL Hospital

Thomas Deringer, Ph.D.,,,,, Vice President experience, sharing his views on improving cleanliness in healthcare environments.

Cleanliness in healthcare is more than just appearance, it is a key factor in patient safety and trust. After Covid-19, patients are more satisfied in the clean environment of the medical facility and have higher expectations and standards of composition”.Clean. “With the restrictions on cleaning, medical organizations need to adopt stricter hygiene protocols.

Recognizing the shift in patient expectations, UOFL Hospital launched a program designed to improve cleanliness and reshape how patients and employees perceive and participate in hygiene practices. UOFL Hospital, in partnership with Compass One Healthcare company Crothall Healthcare, launched a “Cleaning” campaign to unite the entire organization around this fundamental goal. They saw meaningful results for safety outcomes as well as patient experience scores.

A new cleaning method: Strengthening patient confidence through innovative programs and messages

Press Ganey's research collaborates with the University of Chicago to showcase the public Views on cleaning There has been a change during the pandemic. The question is no longer “Is this space clean?” but “Is it confident it's clean?”

In short, cleanliness is not enough. Patients must also regard the environment as clean.

The study identified three key cleaning drivers: 100% cleanliness, cleaning confidence and employee assurance. UOFL Health quickly took these findings, launching a double-dollar strategy that would change the way they clean.

Defining the goal of exercise: collective effort to improve cleanliness

The goal of the campaign may be simple, but the vision behind it is ambitious: to change patients’ perceptions of cleaning, enhance overall patient experience (PX), and promote a shared responsibility for health across the hospital. UOFL Hospital sets a clear, measurable goal to exceed the 50th percentage point of cleanliness. Currently, they are in No. 54.

But the sport is more than just encountering a number. It's about making cleaning a shared responsibility. The power of cleaning calls on every staff member in each department to play an active role in maintaining a spotless environment. Through extensive participation and collaboration, the campaign aims to enhance the tangible and perceived standards of cleaning hospitals.

Action taken: A comprehensive approach

To bring the power of cleaning exercises to life, UOFL Hospital has established a dedicated cleaning committee that meets monthly in the early stages and continues to conduct regular inspections. Led by senior leaders including UOFL Health Chief Nursing Officer (CNO), Vice President of Quality, and members of the patient experience team, the committee works with Crothall’s Regional PX Directors and UOFL Hospital PX Directors as well as staff, marketing teams and nursing units to align everyone in terms of common goals.

Key initiatives and news to support cleaning activities include:

• Personal Hygiene Kit: UOFL Hospital has partnered with suppliers such as PDI (Infection Prevention) and Innovate Medical, a medical supply packaging company, to create a hygiene kit for patients. These kits include body towels, hand wipes, lip balm, sleep masks and earplugs and are distributed to new patients by patient advocates or Environmental Services (EVS) employees.
• Public area cleaning: To emphasize the hospital’s commitment to cleanliness, banners, posters, panes and mirror decals show the power of cleaning messages, placed in high-flow areas such as lobbies and bathrooms.
• Increase access to sanitary materials: Gloves can be purchased easily throughout the hospital, enhancing staff and patients’ protection and enhancing the hospital’s high-cleaning standards.
• Confusion and perception of cleanliness: Remind leaders and staff to be considered dirt. By actively organizing through leaders and daily actions, UOFL Hospital has strengthened cleaning from the outset, including embedding these behaviors in the next day’s training
• No channel: A key principle is that no one should not solve four key actions: washing hands, cleaning the surroundings, responding to call lights and following the 10-5 rules. Rules 10-5 – Eye contact at 10 feet and speaking at 5 feet – were introduced on the first day and strengthened on the second day's assessment to ensure it becomes part of all employee culture.
• Continuous Leadership Role Model: Senior leaders have made the commitment to high standards persist by accrediting staff with beverage cards (employment incentives issued to hospital staff members, allowing employees to redeem free drinks in hospital cafeterias, in recognition of their efforts to patrol hygiene standards and continue to demonstrate their commitment to cleaning standards every day.

Departmental collaborative efforts

A decisive aspect of the power of cleaning exercise is that it emphasizes teamwork across different hospital departments. This Nota top-down program, or activities driven only by environmental services. This is the whole hospital's movement. The movement promotes strong partnerships among electric vehicles Nursing staffand leadership. For example, the staff received a clean T-shirt while on duty. This clear commitment to cleaning helps strengthen the cultural shift to a cleaner, safer hospital environment.

Enhance patient safety through cleaning

The power of cleaning exercise has begun to produce success stories. The early results of UOFL hospitals were shocking, with high HCAHPS scores and significantly lower infection rates in hospitals.

• HCAHPS score: Overall room cleaning scores increased by 11%, a significant improvement in employee engagement and patient perceptions.
• CAUTI (Urinary tract infection associated with catheter): Reduced from 1.035 to 0.853.
• Colonal Surgical Site Infection (SSI): Reduced from 0.857 to 0.659.

When EVS staff and caregivers work together to create a clean culture, they will end up talking to themselves. Staff are more proud of their work, while patients are more confident in the hospital’s ability to provide a safe and clean environment that supports rehabilitation.

What is the power of cleanliness?

UOFL Hospital’s clean exercise capability demonstrates how a cultural shift in cleanliness improves patient experience, safety and overall outcomes. In fact, its success has led to its adoption in the University of Kentucky and other major institutions included South Carolina Medical University (MUSC). The power of cleaning is part of the wider movement in healthcare, showing that true cleanliness goes beyond what fits the eyes, not just a surface-level shine.

To learn more about Crothall and how companies can help organizations create better experiences for everyone in healthcare, Get in touch here. To learn more about the media Ganey and the human experience platform, Press Garni.