Expert Advice

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.
 

How to Handle a Twindemic

11/21/2022

As flu season begins to impact patients and facilities nationwide, public health experts are warning hospitals to prepare for a “twindemic” – or even “tripledemic” – during which they might be treating a large influx of COVID-19 and flu or RSV patients simultaneously this winter.
 
During the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, flu season was mild from heightened precautions, such as working from home, decrease in social gatherings, and use of masks and hand sanitizer. However, a return to open offices and social gatherings and a decrease in mask use could allow another severe outbreak to occur. Furthermore, Australia's flu season, which occurs before our flu season in the northern hemisphere, saw an early arrival of flu and the highest number of flu cases in the past five years. This is a good reminder that healthcare facilities should put plans into place to ensure they are ready to face the challenges this flu season may present.

Ensuring a Safe and Compliant Healing Environment

11/7/2022

For healthcare facilities, rules and regulations act as a foundational shield against preventable harm within the physical environment. Without a comprehensive compliance strategy, facilities may face legal and financial repercussions, in addition to putting patients, staff and visitors at risk.
 
Implementing strong compliance strategies can even out what may otherwise be a race to readiness months prior to your triennial survey. By setting your compliance course in a manner that provides an “always-ready” steadiness, you can avoid the mental stress and be confident of safety and success during any unscheduled survey.
 

Building the Foundation for Effective Acute Care

10/24/2022

Acute care facilities serve a variety of patients each day, so healthcare teams must be prepared to meet a wide range of needs.
 
For remodels and new construction, design elements create a supportive foundation for high-quality patient care. The goal is to enhance comfort in an inherently stressful space through intentional design choices.
 

Three questions to ask while designing a behavioral health facility

10/10/2022

Detail-oriented facility planning and design creates the foundation for effective healthcare treatment. For facilities that aim to treat conditions related to mental health or substance abuse, there are specific considerations designers must take into account to create the right environment.
 
Designing a behavioral health facility goes beyond following compliance standards. In order to create a safe and supportive healing environment, your team has to make intentional decisions. Asking the right questions along the way is an important part of ensuring the safety, privacy and comfort of your clients.
 

Designing pediatric hospitals with children’s needs in mind

9/26/2022

Planning a children’s hospital requires deliberate decisions at every turn. Each design element is an opportunity to make the children in treatment and their support teams feel safer and more comfortable within the space.

Creating a better environment for patients, and particularly pediatric patients, can have a strong impact on treatment outcomes. In fact, for the first time in history, there are more patients with congenital illness over the age of 18 than under, which is indicative of extraordinary advances in pediatric medicine and facilities. Continuing to support the health of infants, children and adolescents means taking their needs into consideration while designing healthcare facilities for them.
 

Integrating Values into Everyday Work

9/12/2022

Too often, core values of an organization only exist on paper. A true values-based environment helps connect associates and establishes a purpose behind the work they do.  

Core values should be apparent in all aspects of your healthcare organization, from daily interactions to business strategies. Moral standards set the framework for everything your organization does and align the team with the same goals and direction. While every workplace is guided by different values, common practices can help embed your organization’s values in day-to-day work. 

Implementing Sustainable Infectious Disease Protocols

8/29/2022

More than two years into dealing with a pandemic, healthcare workers are facing a new public health concern. The World Health Organization declared monkeypox a global health emergency in July, and just as they have been with COVID-19, healthcare facilities are at the frontlines. 

While the hospitalization and fatality rates for monkeypox are much lower than those of COVID-19, facilities are focusing on implementing evaluation, testing and vaccine distribution procedures to help keep their communities safe. The outbreak reminds us once again that new waves and diseases are rarely predictable, and healthcare facilities should be prepared with sufficient and sustainable protocols and emergency preparedness plans. 

Prioritizing mental health and self-care while caring for others

8/15/2022

When your job is to care for others, you can too easily forget to care for yourself. Healthcare workers often overlook their own mental health needs because they are more focused on keeping patients safe and giving the best care possible. But prioritizing your and your team’s mental health is essential, especially during the ongoing pandemic. By being present and promoting a supportive environment, leaders can help their teams cope with stress in healthy ways.
 

Medxcel honored at PRSA Hoosier Chapter’s 2022 Pinnacle Awards

8/1/2022

Connections are the backbone of healthcare. During a difficult year in the healthcare industry, Medxcel remained dedicated to providing support and encouraging connections to improve the overall healthcare environment. We’re honored to be recognized for our programs that strengthened employee relations and connected healthcare leaders and providers in the past year.
 

Addressing Vulnerabilities and Preparing for Crises

7/18/2022

The safety of patients, guests and staff is the top priority in hospitals. Healthcare facility managers must always focus efforts on emergency preparedness to ensure readiness in the face of extreme weather events, violence and other crises. An increase in mass shootings in hospitals and other community spaces across the country makes preparation even more imperative. 

In three recent articles, Healthcare Facilities Today discussed how and why facilities plan to handle emergencies. With insights from Scott Cormier, Medxcel’s Vice President of Emergency Management, Environment of Care and Safety, Healthcare Facilities Today overviewed responses to crises and offered guidance on physically and financially preparing hospitals for emergencies. 

Responding to Community Needs

7/4/2022

Hospitals have always played an essential role in supporting and caring for our communities. They often act as the place where life begins and ends and provide a healing environment for challenges in between. Especially in smaller communities, hospitals are often some of the largest employers and are geographically centered. Hospitals can also serve a greater purpose by supporting community-wide health initiatives.