I suppose if
you were involved in a fraternity
or sorority during university or college the title of today’s blog could
have a different meaning…. For the
purposes of Infection Control Week, I want to use “rushing” in its literal
sense: to move with urgent haste.
Whether it’s at work or at home we’ve all experienced that feeling of
being rushed. There’s not enough time in
the day to get your work done so you rush through projects without investing
enough time to do as good of a job as you like.
At home, if you have kids you’re probably like me, rushing (aka speeding
while driving) to basketball practice, swimming lessons, hockey or trying to squeeze
in time to get homework done (aka doing more than you probably should).
you were involved in a fraternity
or sorority during university or college the title of today’s blog could
have a different meaning…. For the
purposes of Infection Control Week, I want to use “rushing” in its literal
sense: to move with urgent haste.
Whether it’s at work or at home we’ve all experienced that feeling of
being rushed. There’s not enough time in
the day to get your work done so you rush through projects without investing
enough time to do as good of a job as you like.
At home, if you have kids you’re probably like me, rushing (aka speeding
while driving) to basketball practice, swimming lessons, hockey or trying to squeeze
in time to get homework done (aka doing more than you probably should).
The fact that
rushing leads to cutting corners is nothing new. It is this fact however, that unwittingly puts
our facilities or our staff on the road to catastrophe. One example of this is cutting staffing rates
in an attempt to maintain profitability. The unintended consequences of this is people
taking on additional responsibilities for which they were not trained or people
start omitting tasks they perceive as non-critical just to keep up with their
overburdened workload. From an infection
control perspective this will lead to the breakdown in our programs and will ultimately
increase the likelihood of HAIs or outbreaks.
rushing leads to cutting corners is nothing new. It is this fact however, that unwittingly puts
our facilities or our staff on the road to catastrophe. One example of this is cutting staffing rates
in an attempt to maintain profitability. The unintended consequences of this is people
taking on additional responsibilities for which they were not trained or people
start omitting tasks they perceive as non-critical just to keep up with their
overburdened workload. From an infection
control perspective this will lead to the breakdown in our programs and will ultimately
increase the likelihood of HAIs or outbreaks.
Many IP’s are tasked with or are part of a team that works
together to choose what disinfectants will be used. This task can be daunting. There are literally hundreds of products to
choose from, and how do you decide what characteristics (safety,
speed,
efficacy
etc.) you are looking for in a disinfectant?
To take some of your stress away, I had written a blog Disinfectant
Selection Made Easy. The premise of
this blog being that the selection of a disinfectant really can be made as
simple as tabling out the desired traits of a disinfectant and adding any
criteria that is specific to the needs of your facility. You can in
turn develop a rating system that allows you to more objectively look at
the overall picture and how the product answers your needs. Developing a matrix
such as the one we developed can help reduce the anxiety over picking a
product.
together to choose what disinfectants will be used. This task can be daunting. There are literally hundreds of products to
choose from, and how do you decide what characteristics (safety,
speed,
efficacy
etc.) you are looking for in a disinfectant?
To take some of your stress away, I had written a blog Disinfectant
Selection Made Easy. The premise of
this blog being that the selection of a disinfectant really can be made as
simple as tabling out the desired traits of a disinfectant and adding any
criteria that is specific to the needs of your facility. You can in
turn develop a rating system that allows you to more objectively look at
the overall picture and how the product answers your needs. Developing a matrix
such as the one we developed can help reduce the anxiety over picking a
product.
From a
staffing perspective for housekeeping, we must keep in mind that cleaning takes
time. Cutting time, cutting staff and/or
cutting training
programs can and will lead to disaster.
We need to invest the time in looking at the ROI of effective cleaning
and disinfection. Have you considered
what impact cutting staff would have on errors, on customer retention, on
longevity of equipment, on employee retention or on lost time due to grievances
from ineffective supervision? If you
spend the time, you’ll find that it leads to more efficient practices, reduced
HAIs and reduced employee absenteeism.
Spending time looking at how to improve cleaning and disinfection, be it
through compliance monitoring, training programs or new methods of cleaning
(e.g. use of disposable wipes), may in fact save you money in the long
run. Not only will you save money, but
you’ll likely avoid outbreaks or other medical errors that land you on the
front page of your local newspaper or the headline for the evening news.
staffing perspective for housekeeping, we must keep in mind that cleaning takes
time. Cutting time, cutting staff and/or
cutting training
programs can and will lead to disaster.
We need to invest the time in looking at the ROI of effective cleaning
and disinfection. Have you considered
what impact cutting staff would have on errors, on customer retention, on
longevity of equipment, on employee retention or on lost time due to grievances
from ineffective supervision? If you
spend the time, you’ll find that it leads to more efficient practices, reduced
HAIs and reduced employee absenteeism.
Spending time looking at how to improve cleaning and disinfection, be it
through compliance monitoring, training programs or new methods of cleaning
(e.g. use of disposable wipes), may in fact save you money in the long
run. Not only will you save money, but
you’ll likely avoid outbreaks or other medical errors that land you on the
front page of your local newspaper or the headline for the evening news.
It’s easy to slash
10% from a budget. We know the cost of
our staffing budgets, our chemical budgets etc., however, being short-sighted
and focusing only on cutting costs can mean we do not protect our interests and
are putting ourselves at risk to mistakes happening which can and will result
in phenomenally high and unpredictable "unknown costs."
10% from a budget. We know the cost of
our staffing budgets, our chemical budgets etc., however, being short-sighted
and focusing only on cutting costs can mean we do not protect our interests and
are putting ourselves at risk to mistakes happening which can and will result
in phenomenally high and unpredictable "unknown costs."
Since no one wants
to have to justify why we went over budget, look at the practice of choosing
disinfectants in your facility. Do you
have a formal procedure? Look at the
number of staff and your cleaning compliance rates. If you do not have a formal procedure for
choosing products and your cleaning compliance is low or your HAIs have
increased, it may have nothing to do with apathy of your cleaning staff or the
products you are using. Recognize that
it may have to do with rushing.
to have to justify why we went over budget, look at the practice of choosing
disinfectants in your facility. Do you
have a formal procedure? Look at the
number of staff and your cleaning compliance rates. If you do not have a formal procedure for
choosing products and your cleaning compliance is low or your HAIs have
increased, it may have nothing to do with apathy of your cleaning staff or the
products you are using. Recognize that
it may have to do with rushing.
Bugging Off!
