The environmental services team at Memorial Medical Center, Springfield, Ill., is the 2018 Environmental Services Department of the Year Winner in the 500+ bed category. They use tried-and-true methods to cut infection rates, according to an article on the Health Facilities Management website.

While technology, data and a state-of-the-art simulation center are critical to its success, the Memorial philosophy is simpler.

“We are the killers of germs,” said Gabe N. Ceperich, CHESP, director of ES, linen distribution and grounds. “People come here because they are sick. It is our job to ensure they do not get sicker. We have a step-by-step cleaning process we follow every time. We don’t cut corners. We say, ‘After you clean that room, you should feel comfortable enough to admit your own family.’”

The team used Lean Six Sigma (LSS) methodology that has yielded impressive results. In 2017, the ES department worked with IP to implement two LSS projects that resulted in the hospital’s lowest Clostridium difficile rates among patients in nearly three years. 

Read the article.