Delivering on the Patient-Centered Promise

New research indicates that patients’ perception of hospital cleanliness is a lever for multiple quality and experience outcomes, making it an important improvement target. Specifically, the data show that patients’ perception of hospital cleanliness is highly correlated with the risk of hospital-acquired infections (HAIs).

In other words, patients know clean when they see it, and it’s important to them.

Environmental services (EVS) staff members play a key role in helping the health care team fulfill these expectations by reliably maintaining a safe, clean care environment, projecting friendliness and caring in routine interactions with patients and families; and communicating and collaborating with the health care team to ensure that patients’ needs are being met.