The Surprising Ways Facility Cleanliness Impacts Mental and Physical Healing

By Your Health Magazine

Your Health Magazine

. http://yourhealthmagazine.net

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The Surprising Ways Facility Cleanliness Impacts Mental and Physical Healing

Do you want to know what truly helps people recover faster in any medical facility?

It’s not always the fanciest equipment or the latest technology. Sure, those things help…but the biggest factor in mental and physical recovery is often forgotten.

Cleanliness.

How clean a facility keeps its patient areas drastically influences patient safety & well-being. In fact, according to the CDC, 1 in 31 hospital patients has at least one healthcare-associated infection. That is hundreds of thousands of patients acquiring infections that could easily be prevented with proper cleanliness and infection control measures.

But here’s the crazy part…

Keeping a facility clean not only prevents infection. It also helps to manage how people feel when they walk in your doors. It can increase recovery times. And it can even influence whether patients trust your facility to care for them.

What you’ll discover:

• How Cleanliness Impacts Mental & Physical Healing
• Why Hospitality Venue Cleaning Standards Should Be Considered
• How Patient Safety & Well-being Starts With Keeping Your Space Clean
• Simple Steps You Can Take To Make An Immediate Impact

How Cleanliness Impacts Mental & Physical Healing

Let’s start with mental healing.

This may sound crazy at first…

When you think about cleaning, preventing the spread of bacteria and infection usually comes to mind. Very few people think about how cleanliness impacts mental health.

Until now.

Recent research from the American Cleaning Institute shows that cleaning actually helps to decrease stress levels and anxiety. Which means that if someone walks into a facility that is clean and smells good, they instantly feel more at ease.

Pretty powerful when you think about the state of mind someone might be in while visiting a healthcare or hospitality venue.

Stressed.

Anxious.

Not feeling well.

Needless to say, allowing that person to walk into a clean, comfortable, and inviting environment means taking the “ick” factor out of being in that space. If we want guests and patients to heal mentally and physically, everything has to be done to create that safe environment.

And cleanliness is just the beginning.

Remember how we talked about how many hospital patients acquire infections while receiving medical care?

Not only are these infections 100% preventable, but they also increase the mental and physical recovery time it takes to heal.

Imagine working super hard to recover from surgery or an illness only to be side-swiped with an infection due to improper cleaning. It happens way too often.

If a facility wants to truly be sanitary and prevent the spread of bacteria, they need to work with professionals who specialize in hospitality venue cleaning. Companies like www.precimaxclean.com.au have spent years developing cleaning protocols that exceed hospitality venue standards.

When your facility looks and smells clean, your patient’s brains recognize that they are safe to recover.

How Cleanliness Impacts Physical Health

Not to labour this point, but…

Dirty facilities cause people to become sick.

Straight up.

Healthcare associated infections are responsible for patient deaths and illnesses every year. While some facilities may do an OK job at cleaning, they often cut corners where it counts.

By cleaning “okay,” chances are high that patients will fall victim to bacteria and germs your staff didn’t think to look for.

Professional cleaners know how to clean.

Not the sweep/mop/wipe type of cleaning. Medicine stations, door handles, countertops, light switches, TV remotes…these are the things that if not cleaned properly, could put your facility at risk for infections.

And infections are 100% preventable with the right people on your cleaning staff.

Why Hospitality Venue Cleaning Standards Should Be Considered

This will come as no surprise to most of you…

The hospitality industry has been way ahead of the healthcare and wellness industry when it comes to cleanliness.

Think about the last hotel you stayed at…

Did you walk into your room and find dirty towels on the floor? Did your bathroom look like it had been trashed beyond recognition?

No! Because hoteliers know that keeping their facilities clean is one of the number one things they can do to boost revenue.

Kudos to those in the hospitality industry that already know this.

For those that don’t…

Patients should feel the same way about your facility as they do a nice hotel. When someone checks into a hotel they know they will get quality sleep, fresh towels, and clean floors.

Your facility should be no different.

Patient Safety & Well-being Starts With Clean Spaces

Are you ready for this?

If you want your patients to be safe at your facility, start by cleaning it.

Just hear this out…

When a patient walks into your facility, they have no idea if your surfaces are clean or not.

But that doesn’t stop them from analyzing their environment.

• Dirty floors = filthy facility
• Unclean bathrooms = gross staff
• Visible dust = dirty air

Do you see where this is going?

If you don’t take care of the cleanliness of your facility, patients will assume you don’t care about their safety. And if they don’t feel safe, they will go elsewhere to receive their care.

Simple Steps Facilities Can Take To Improve Cleanliness

Implementing a 5-star cleanliness routine into your facility doesn’t have to be hard.

Here are a few simple steps you can take right now to boost your cleaning regimen.

Audit what you’re currently doing and see where you can improve. Areas to focus on include high touch surfaces (doors, medicine station buttons, sinks) and high traffic areas (waiting rooms, hallways, bathrooms).

Partner with a professional cleaning service who knows how to prevent the spread of infections. Not all cleaners are created equal, which is why hiring professionals with years of hospitality venue cleaning experience is crucial.

Display your cleaning schedule where everyone can see it. Patients and visitors will feel more at ease when they know you have a system in place to keep your facility clean.

Train all staff on basic cleaning principles. While your cleaning crew will take care of the tedious cleaning tasks, everyone can be responsible for wiping down commonly used surfaces.

Easy stuff. Anyone can do this!

Pulling It All Together

If there is one thing to take away from this article it is this…

Keeping your facility clean is one of the best investments you can make when trying to improve mental and physical recovery rates.

To recap…

• Cleaning helps people feel more at ease when they are in a heightened stressed state.
• Not cleaning your facility properly can cause deadly infections.
• Hospitality venue cleaning standards are some of the best practices you can implement.
• Patient safety & well-being starts with keeping your facilities clean.
• Simple, consistent cleaning routines are all you need to get ahead.
• Facilities that value cleanliness and infection control will ALWAYS come out on top.

Make cleanliness a priority and watch your patients recover quicker than ever.