By Healthcare Facilities Today

In any environmental services department, achieving consistent service excellence is critical and the the department's quality assurance program will dictate the department's specific standards of cleanliness, according to an article on the Health Facilities Management magazine website.

ES managers have many new tools and devices that can be used to improve the quality of services delivered to patients, according to the article.

Simulation training is one example. New ES employees must have the skills to perform tasks efficiently, safely and competently and all ES staff up to date on current issues and areas of concern. 

The ES department at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics, Madison, has partnered with the UW Health Clinical Simulation Center to use this simulation training with new and existing ES staff. The department now conducts monthly sessions during which ES staff complete simulated patient room discharges and daily patient room exercises that review the cleaning of high-touch surfaces, discharge cleaning and patient interaction and communication, the article said.

Exercises have included such areas as patient discharge cleaning, the importance of cleaning highly touched surfaces and communications with the patient, according to the article. The ES department also uses the simulation center to review new employees' retention of what they have learned during their first 12 weeks of employment.

The entire simulation is filmed by a member of the simulation center team and these videos are made available on their Web page for review by the employee, the trainer and the supervisor.

Read the article.