Building a deferred maintenance strategy

“Are you running your facility, or is your facility running you?” That was the question posed in an episode on Season 3 of the “Between the Lines with FGI” podcast.

Two experts in the health care physical environment, Jonathan Flannery, MHSA, CHFM, FASHE, FACHE, senior associate director of regulatory affairs at the American Society for Health Care Engineering (ASHE), and Mark Mochel, MBA, CHFM, SASHE, ACABE, strategic account executive at Brightly, a Siemens Co., joined FGI’s John Williams, a member of FGI’s board of directors, and Director of Education Marissa Lamperis Kastrinos for an in-depth discussion on deferred maintenance in health care facilities and its impact on patient safety, compliance and long-term operational strategy.

Reframing the conversation

In the podcast episode “Safe by Design: Proactive Maintenance for Code and Care,” the discussion begins by reframing deferred maintenance as “deferred investment.” Although “deferred maintenance” is a term that often comes with a negative connotation, Flannery and Mochel note that it could be helpful to think of deferred maintenance as “deferred investment” instead. The latter term emphasizes accumulated infrastructure investments that were intentionally postponed due to limited resources or competing priorities. Rather than being inherently negative, it represents a strategic decision that must be actively managed through maintenance and operations programs. Even though health care organizations have finite resources, proper maintenance can significantly extend the life of equipment and infrastructure while reducing risk to patients and operations.

And patients always should be central to any deferred maintenance strategy. While well-maintained systems reduce the likelihood of failures that can disrupt clinical services, poorly managed deferred maintenance can compound risk, increase long-term costs and lead to troublesome compliance issues. (Tune into the podcast to hear Flannery’s cautionary tale about a deferred maintenance decision gone wrong at the 16:23 mark.)

Another recurring theme is the importance of leadership, data transparency and communication. Effective deferred maintenance strategies require collaboration among facilities management, clinicians, administrators, executive leaders and even authorities having jurisdiction to understand the risks to patient safety and the potential compliance issues involved in choosing which investments to delay or advance.

Listen to the episode for more insights on creating a deferred maintenance strategy.

ASHE is a sponsor of Season 3 of “Between the Lines with FGI.”