The company that you decide to hire for your medical facility cleaning needs is a very important decision.  With the concern of HAI’s (Healthcare-Associated Infection’s) in the news more and more each day, medical facilities need to stay on top of their game when it comes to their overall cleanliness.  To keep you at the top of that game, you need a company that knows the protocols and procedures that need to be followed to make sure that the job is not only getting done but is getting done right.

With many cleaning companies, the budget looks good because they are only concerned with the appearance of cleanliness.  However, when it comes to your medical facility cleaning needs the cleaning company you choose needs to realize that, in the interest of public health, the cleaning needs to be taken up a notch and a step further.  There are protocols and procedures laid out, that are to be followed regarding the need for disinfecting and sterilizing of medical facilities.

To this end, the company you hire needs to both vets and train their staff members themselves.  During the vetting procedure, you will be assured that the employee passed both a drug test and a background check.  And with the personalized training, you will know that your facility will be serviced by individuals who not only know the proper procedures to follow but have also been trained in the areas of bloodborne illnesses, cross-contamination, proper hand washing, and sanitization and the very important HIPAA laws.

Another important thing to remember is to ask questions about how the company handles certain areas.  For instance, does the company have a reliable documented history of their employee screening procedure?  This is one of the most important questions you can ask, as a fully vetted employee should have passed both drug testing and a criminal background check.  Or, does the company do ongoing infection control risk assessments?  This is a series of tests that determine if the cleaning throughout the medical facility is being done up to standards for various areas such as non-critical, critical, and high touch surfaces.

One very important question to ask is does the cleaning company implement the crucial elements in HAI reduction?  These include the proper products to use, the proper procedures to follow and finally the proof of validation of compliance.

Maybe ask does the company have a discharge cleaning process in place?  This is a method by which when a patient is discharged from the facility, the room they were in must be properly disinfected and sterilized before it can be used by another patient.

And finally, does the company train their employees in being respectful of patients when they enter the room to clean?  It is important that the medical facility cleaning employees know that it is not just their job to disinfect and sterilize a patients room, but to engage with the patient as well.

Finding a medical facility cleaning service is about more than cleaning.  It is about following protocols and procedures to the letter, so that patients, visitors, and staff will have peace of mind that they are being protected against possible illness or injury.