Expert Advice

Funding a First-Class Emergency Management Program

7/15/2024

Between weather disasters, technology failures and man-made crises, hospital leaders often find themselves having to put their emergency response plans to the test. Too often, those responsibilities are assigned as additional duties to staff in other healthcare roles such as the facilities manager, emergency department director, or even administrative personnel. That model is no longer viable.

Three Strategies to Navigate Rural Healthcare Challenges

6/28/2024

Limited funding and resources amplify financial challenges for rural hospitals when compared to facilities located in more urban and suburban areas, forcing them to be more resourceful in terms of compliance. Due to these obstacles, an estimated 30% of rural hospitals in the U.S. are currently at risk of closing and leaving their communities with limited access to life-saving healthcare.

Emergency Preparedness in Healthcare: Planning for Self-Sufficiency

6/17/2024

In recent years the healthcare industry has learned what can happen when crises catch healthcare providers unprepared. Emergency management not only keeps patients, hospital staff and visitors safe at times of heightened risks, but also sustains revenue, enabling hospitals to remain operational during a disaster.

Mastering Communications for Faster Emergency Resolution

6/3/2024

As threats evolve, many healthcare leaders ask us how they can shorten their response time and resolve emergencies faster. It’s a big question with complex answers. In this post, we focus on one foundational element of emergency response: communications.

Limiting Food Waste to Drive Sustainability Within Healthcare Facilities

5/3/2024

Whether it’s due to growing public expectations or the associated incentives available to healthcare systems, our healthcare teams are noticing that implementing environmentally friendly initiatives is a growing priority for leaders within this sector.

Three Key Elements for Proactive Disaster Preparedness

5/3/2024

Hospitals across the U.S. responded to large scale natural disasters in 2023. Handling the unexpected is at the core of healthcare, but proactive preparation leads to a more effective and streamlined response when a disaster impacts operations. No matter the facility or disaster, the three steps are critical when implementing disaster preparedness plans.

Addressing Ligature Risks in the Patient Room and Beyond

4/22/2024

Patient suicide ranks among the top three sentinel events, reports The Joint Commission (TJC), bringing an intense scrutiny to ligature risks within healthcare facilities. TJC studies suggests that suicide prevention efforts in hospital settings should focus primarily on reducing the risks of death by hanging. It stands to reason that if many suicide attempts are impulsive, then reducing environmental risks and opportunities for self-harm is vital for curbing suicides in healthcare settings. 

Shining a Light on Eclipse Risks: Preparing Healthcare Facilities for the Solar Spectacle

4/1/2024

On April 8, skies will darken midday in 15 states in a much-anticipated total solar eclipse, bringing a surge of spectators to locations in the path of totality. Healthcare leaders in areas within the path of totality should plan now to prepare for potential risks that may impact healthcare facilities during the eclipse.

Expanding on Best Practices: A Guide to Healthcare Facility Construction in 2024 and Beyond

2/12/2024

"When a healthcare organization spends time re-evaluating current practices and strengthening strategies, the team can more effectively meet goals and build facilities that are well-equipped to operate efficiently and serve their communities effectively."

How to Establish a Diverse Supplier Sourcing Strategy

1/30/2024

"One misconception about vendor diversity programs is that they only cater to the interests of the vendors. In reality, a diverse supplier base not only offers direct benefits to healthcare organizations including reliability and resiliency along the supply chain but also contributes to the long-term growth of local communities, further supporting the development of MVWBEs and small businesses along the way."

4 Questions to Spark Strategic Healthcare Budget Discussions

7/17/2023

For healthcare leadership teams, the process of developing capital and operational budgets offers an opportunity to execute overarching organizational goals. In order to successfully align budgets with strategic efforts, leaders must begin by outlining long-term objectives to guide decisions.
 

Encouraging Female Leadership in the Healthcare Industry

6/19/2023

Women make up the majority of the healthcare workforce but lack proportional representation in leadership roles. While more women have taken positions of leadership in recent years, there is plenty of room for continued growth.

Rural Disaster Response: Maintaining Safe Operations to Weather the Storm

5/15/2023

When severe weather strikes, patients rely on their hospitals to continue serving the community during and after a disaster. For rural communities, severe weather has the potential to cause major disruption to a healthcare system due to a lack of resources.
 

Improving Quality of Care and Efficiency Through Innovative Solutions

4/17/2023

Innovation is a crucial part of maintaining a successful healthcare organization. From keeping up with advancements in treatments and medications to upgrading facility systems, healthcare leaders need to stay up to date on regulations and encourage their teams to find new solutions to ensure they are delivering high-quality care.
 

Driving Results with a People-Centered Approach to Healthcare Service

3/20/2023

At healthcare facilities, the needs of patients come first. While organizations need to implement strong business strategies to remain open and continue acting as an essential resource for the community, all decisions should be mission-driven rather than profit-driven.
 

4 Ways a Fully Integrated Facilities Services Model Drives Patient Experience

2/20/2023

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) defines the patient experience as “the range of interactions patients have with the healthcare system, including their care from health plans, and from doctors, nurses, and staff in hospitals, physician practices, and other healthcare facilities.” As the largest sole provider of healthcare facilities services in the U.S., Medxcel is uniquely positioned to contribute to the physical environment that further impacts the patient experience.

Sustainability Initiatives for Facility Management

1/30/2023

The effects of climate change and benefits of sustainability become clearer over time. With growing public expectations, government mandates and associated incentives, healthcare facility managers are prioritizing climate-resilient and environmentally sustainable operations.
 
Over the next few decades, facilities will integrate sustainability initiatives into facility operations to reach long-term targets. Achieving these goals will require time and continuous development. Creating an effective plan to reduce your organization’s carbon footprint can make these efforts easier to manage and more impactful.
 

Laying the Foundation for a New Year

1/2/2023

The new year marks a natural reset after the busy holiday season, which is why New Year’s resolutions are so popular on a personal level. For organizations, creating resolutions offers an opportunity to re-evaluate priorities and strategies. Of course, projects, successes and challenges will carry over from the previous year, but the beginning of a new year gives us all a chance to set new goals and start the year off strong.

As we head into the new year, we’re focusing on three ways you can start your healthcare facility out on the right foot for 2023.
 

After the Storm: Hurricane Recovery

12/19/2022

We may be at the tail end of hurricane season (June–November), but it’s necessary to stay vigilant. In the past few months alone, we have seen the tragic effects of Hurricanes Fiona, Ian and Nicole. According to the National Centers for Environmental Information’s U.S. Billion-Dollar Weather & Climate Disasters 1980-2022 Analysis, two tropical cyclone events (Fiona and Ian) have caused losses exceeding $1 billion as of Oct. 11, 2022. Hurricane Ian caused $1.8 billion in damages to Florida’s agriculture alone. The full amount of the impact is still being calculated.
 

Three Tactics for Increasing Handwashing Compliance in Healthcare Facilities

12/5/2022

Proper handwashing is one of the most basic and effective elements of infectious disease protocol and protecting vulnerable patients. While it’s easy to assume your associates are taking precautions and washing their hands, handwashing compliance levels often falter over time, according to a University of Chicago Medical Center study.

Healthcare workers on average are only washing their hands half as many times as they should be per shift, according to the CDC, which recommends washing hands before and after each patient encounter to prevent spreading germs to other patients and staff members, even when gloves are being worn. Frequent and facility-wide use of alcohol-based hand sanitizer, in addition to washing with soap and water, can have a significant impact on preventing healthcare-associated infections.