Enter the 2012 ES Department of the Year Competition

Entry Instructions

• Click here to download a MS Word version of the below entry questions, or cut and paste them into your preferred text editor.
  
  
• Complete the entire 2012 ES Department of the Year entry form, answering ALL 14 questions. Be sure to include all applicant contact information.
  
  
• Provide "before" and "after" data to validate successes and performance improvements achieved (e.g., baseline patient satisfaction scores on room cleanliness and scores for succeeding years to illustrate improvement).
  
  
• Each applicant must submit the following:
  1. A completed entry emailed to rkehoe@healthforum.com.
  2. Supporting documentation can be mailed to:
     
     Bob Kehoe
     Health Facilities Management
     155 N Wacker Dr., 4th Floor
     Chicago, IL 60606-1725
     
     
• Deadline: All entries must be postmarked no later than May 25, 2012.
  

Entry Questions

• Applicant Name
• Applicant Title
• Email
• Phone
• Fax
• Facility/Organization Name
• Address
• City
• State
• Zip
• Number of licensed beds
• Facility cleanable square footage
• Number of full-time equivalent employees in ES/housekeeping department
• Credentials/certifications of applicant
• Are you an AHE member?
• Is there planned new construction for this facility? If yes, please specify.

Please complete all 14 sections of the questionnaire below, providing a succinct but detailed answer to each question. Include baseline data to illustrate improvement metrics.

1. Please provide a summary of your environmental services department's major accomplishments and results in 2011 (e.g., employee satisfaction, departmental retention rate, department employee career path, internal customer satisfaction).
   
   
2. Please describe the specific educational and training programs your department deployed in 2011 to improve infection control and prevention activities within ES.
   
   
3. Describe any significant productivity improvements your department has achieved during the past 12 months, emphasizing the role teamwork played in the gains. Please provide baseline data to illustrate improvement, (e.g., average room turn around time improved by X% without negative impact on quality; or, patient satisfaction scores on room cleanliness improved by X%).
   
   
4. How is your environmental services department using technology to improve efficiency and quality? Include mention of systems such as PDAs, robotics, patient bed- and transport tracking systems, scheduling systems, RFID, etc. Provide baseline information that explains specific cost or resources or efficiency gains achieved.
   
   
5. Detail specific steps your team employed during 2011 to improve infection prevention efforts. Describe programs such as initiatives to improve hand-washing compliance, in-service and training programs on proper cleaning and disinfection techniques, quality measurement for area cleaning and disinfection and vendor training, programs to prevent the spread of organisms such as C. diff, noro-virus, MRSA, etc. Joint programs with your infection preventionist could be included. Provide metrics to explain results. For example, what was the infection rate before the changes made? Did the changes have any effect the infection rate?
   
   
6. Explain specific waste reduction and recycling initiatives your facility employed during 2011 (e.g., waste minimization; recycling; environmentally preferable purchasing; eliminating mercury; reducing pharmaceutical, hazardous and medical waste streams; vendor contracting to reduce packaging; etc.). You must include baseline data to illustrate year-over-year improvement and detail cost savings achieved.
   
   
7. How has your department expanded its value to your organization (examples might include assuming greater responsibilities in areas such as managing transportation, grounds, valet services, improving patient throughput (room turns), improving patient satisfaction scores, implementing staff motivation or recognition programs, participating in patient translation services, staff training for English as a second language (ESL), use of an environmental services department dashboard for reporting, etc.)? Include results cost/resource savings achieved by assuming these new responsibilities.
   
   
8. What programs did your team employ to improve patient safety during 2011? Examples might include efforts to reduce patient falls, etc. Include data on results.
   
   
9. What specific activities do you believe set your department apart from your peers at other hospitals? Please provide specific examples.)
   
   
10. How do you and your department engage senior-level hospital management in the progress and successes your department is making?
    
    
11. In addition to the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS), what tool does your organization use to measure patient satisfaction?
    
    
12. Based on the tool used in #11, please tell us your 2010 and 2011 national percentile ranking for:
    
    
    • Cleanliness of patient room.______
    • Friendliness of housekeeper.______
    • Cleanliness of the overall facility.______
    
    In addition, provide the HCAHPS scores for patients who reported that their room and bathroom were "Always" clean.______
    
    
13. Please provide specific examples of how your environmental services department operationally manifests the Institute of Medicine (IOM) Six Aims for Improvement (equity, timeliness, effectiveness, efficiency, patient centeredness, and safety). Be specific and address each of the six areas from an environmental services/housekeeping operational perspective.
    
    
    1. Equity
    2. Timeliness
    3. Effectiveness
    4. Efficiency
    5. Patient centeredness
    6. Safety
    
    
    
14. What model do you use to staff your department? Please indicate model and explain.
    
    
    • Square footage
    • Time-motion studies and frequency of cleaning
    • Number of occupied beds

For questions or comments please contact Bob Kehoe at rkehoe@healthforum.com.

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