Along with the now-familiar crowded emergency departments and the pressing need for intensive care unit beds during a COVID-19 surge, the omicron variant carries a new challenge for Environmental Services workers: Patients tend to be in rooms for shorter periods, meaning more room cleans per day.
At Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Alliance, the combination created a record number of room cleans for the EVS crew in December: 1,800, compared with 1,300 in December 2020.
“Our staff stepped up and caught extra shifts and extra days,” said Bryan Ishcomer, Environmental Services director at Texas Health Alliance. “One of the things I’m very proud of about my staff — they understand that they may not be a doctor, a nurse, a phlebotomist, a radiologist who takes direct care of that patient. But in essence they do. They’re in that room every day, and they provide a clean, safe environment for the patient to heal in.”
A systemwide analysis shows the median length of stay for patients hospitalized during the current surge is one day shorter than during the delta surge last summer, said Ferdinand Velasco, M.D., chief health information officer.
At Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Hurst-Euless-Bedford, discharge cleans from Dec. 1, 2021, to Jan. 25, 2022, were up by 303 over the same period a year ago, said Brandon Goertz, Ph.D., M.H.A., vice president, professional and support services at the hospital.
“Our EVS staff have been amazing as we have navigated the challenges introduced by the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated surges,” Goertz said. “As the first line of defense in infection prevention, EVS staff are paramount to keeping our patients safe during their hospital stay.”
Kirk King, hospital channel chief operating officer, added, “Our Environmental Services employees are valued members of our hospital teams. Their contribution is vital to delivering a safe, quality healthcare experience to the people in the communities Texas Health serves.”
Working faster
Experience with COVID-19 has improved cleaning speed as the pandemic continues, Ishcomer said.
When the first COVID surge occurred two years ago, a “terminal clean” after a COVID patient left a room took more than two hours. Now it’s 45 to 55 minutes, depending on the state of the room when the housekeeping team arrives, Ishcomer said.
The need to “decompress” the Emergency Department — in EVS terms, this means cleaning ED rooms to accommodate more patients during a surge — also has an impact, he said. For example, patients may be transferred to units with available beds to free up ED beds, and then be transferred again to another unit better suited to their acuity. That means three room cleans for one patient.
Ishcomer and his staff have modified schedules to accommodate the room cleans required after patients in units are discharged, usually in the afternoon. To meet that need, the staff tries to get daily room cleans done by 11 a.m.
At Texas Health Alliance, an EVS team of 16 covers the 151-bed hospital around the clock.
Ishcomer said scheduling also has been difficult because members of his staff have been out after contracting COVID themselves or have been away from work to care for ill family members.
“I’m very fortunate with my staff — their willingness, general work ethic and attitude, and their commitment to making sure we’re staffed,” he said.
Pictured: Some members of the EVS crew at Texas Health Alliance: from left, supervisor Ana Jenkins, Maria Ramos, Patricia Martinez, Maria Binning, Mariefrance Bapeli, Bryan Ishcomer, director, and Manuela Moreno
