In the business of healthcare, every patient’s experience and recovery time at a healthcare facility can dramatically affect HCAHPS or patient satisfaction scores. Keeping these scores up is good for continued positive patient recommendations.
While there are many factors that affect patient satisfaction, sometimes it’s as simple as keeping patient restrooms clean. In fact an unclean restroom can become the perfect breeding ground for germ transmission resulting in illness and dissatisfaction, unnecessary staff absences and reduced productivity.
Here are three simple ways to improve restroom hygiene in your facility:
- Hire a commercial cleaning company that knows the difference between cleaning, sanitizing and disinfecting.
A knowledgeable and well-trained cleaning company knows the difference between spreading disease-causing germs and completely eliminating them. Make sure you hire a company that adheres to infection control practices as required by the Center for Disease Control (CDC). This company should be able to provide a thorough cleaning of hotspots and touch points with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-registered disinfectants to prevent cross-contamination in your facility.
- Install touch-free dispensers that keep germs—and costs—at bay.
Consider purpose-built dispensers that have been designed with your facilities in mind, like the Tork MaticTM Hand Towel Roll Dispenser with Intuition sensor or the Tork Foam Soap Dispenser with Intuition sensor. The no-touch, sensor technology in these products reduce the risk of cross-contamination, while one-at-a-time dispensing allows patients and staff to only take what they need. It’s a simple way to keep patient restrooms germ-free while saving on cost and reducing waste efficiently.
- Encourage personal interaction between your cleaning staff and patients.
It will go a long way in ensuring your patients are getting the cleanest living conditions—and the attention they deserve. Provide cleaning staff business cards they can leave behind when they’re done cleaning patient restrooms. Let them leave personal notes that invite patients to contact them if they are dissatisfied with the cleanliness of their restroom or if they need cleanup assistance right away. This form of personalization fosters a more pleasant patient experience and a healthier environment for everyone involved.