All Entries Tagged With: "environmental services"
Risk assessments are the way to go with power strip use
As you might guess, I’m in favor of using the risk assessment process to look at the issue of power strip use in hospitals.
And I’d start with a determination of whether a power strip is the most appropriate strategy, with the recognition that once you start with the power strip as opposed to additional electrical outlets, you’ve increased [more]
Regulatory gray areas around this series of less-than-best practices
I was asked about a clean utility room that is also an electrical storage closet, which contains electrical panels, many wires, and oxygen cylinder storage against the wires.
It sounds like the organization had to make use of the available space for its network cabling, and while this is not an optimal environment of care practice, there’s no real regulatory language that precludes it. That said, there are a couple of things I would cite as “other environmental concerns” to consider: [more]
Be wary of MSDS exemption for consumer cleaning products
My colleagues and I had a discussion recently about an OSHA reference for when material safety data sheets (MSDS) are not required when staff members use everyday consumer cleaning products.
This comes from OSHA’s hazard communications standard (1910.1200), in which [more]
It’s hard to precisely state what “clean” means, from a regulatory stance
From a practical standpoint, there are no specifically recognized standards for cleaning in hospitals. The closest thing to such a beast is the CDC’s Guideline for Environmental Infection Control in Healthcare Facilities.
Having worked with any number of environmental services outsourcing vendors (I’m not going to name names here, but you can probably figure out who they are), I know that each has [more]
What The Joint Commission says about housekeeping activities
I fielded a question recently about what housekeeping regulations are out there.
With the Joint Commission (which pretty much reflects the CMS Conditions of Participation concerns in this area), the applicable standards would be: [more]
Clean up cardboard boxes frequently to limit fire risks
As to the life safety implications of cardboard boxes, they are indeed made of a combustible material and we should do everything we can to minimize their presence, especially for extended periods of time.
Waste removal processes for cardboard should be effective. While there is no specific time measure, it’s generally demonstrable when the waste removal process is not working properly.
Wag the magnet: An MRI cleaning tale
There appears to be an outbreak (small pun intended) of chatter regarding the cleanliness of the MRI environment, including equipment. And now that The Joint Commission has weighed in, so to speak, I figured it might be worth a thought or two.
First off, having spent a fair amount of time in my healthcare life working in environmental services [more]
I’m talking blog at our Hospital Safety Center Symposium
Exhalation, exultation — we are but a mere two months away from HCPro’s 3rd Annual Hospital Safety Center Symposium (it’s May 14-15 in Las Vegas), where I’ll be helming a session that focuses on, of all things, this very blog (which, in and of itself, considers all things).
My good friend and partner in rhyme, Scott Wallask, and I have been exhaustively reviewing posts from the past year or so that have generated more than a modicum of interest, either [more]
A new t-shirt for your environmental services workers
Cleaning is always something I look at while conducting mock surveys.
For instance, I like to make sure [more]
The debate over storing cardboard boxes
There are really no standards for dealing with the storage of cardboard boxes on wooden pallets. Much as it is with the storage of materials under sinks, the expectation is that each organization will conduct a risk assessment relative to the practice in question.
For instance, while there are certainly going to be containers [more]
