News

Infectious Disease Outbreak

2/18/2020

No matter what it is – coronavirus, flu, etc. – epidemics can strike at any time. Is your hospital ready? In this guest post, Scott Cormier, VP of emergency management, environment of care and safety at Medxcel, explains how you can keep your facility safe by preparing now.

Upgrade Opportunities to Improve Facility Resilence

2/9/2020

By identifying weaknesses in facilities and plans, managers can improve an organization's resilience in an emergency.

Industry Voices

1/15/2020

Managing Health Systems' Infrastructure can be a big job.  With this tech it doesn't have to be.  Designed to help healthcare maintenance teams carry out their jobs more efficiently, a CMMS lowers overall costs, maintains continual compliance and creates a culture of accountability amongst the organization.

Creating a culture that puts an end to Sexual Harassment in Healthcare

12/2/2019

The #MeToo movement has encouraged a wide range of industries that once looked at sexual harassment as "part of the job" to start taking steps to improve working conditions. Healthcare is among those industries that are not only finally recognizing the extent of the problem but looking for ways to prevent this behavior in the future. These tips can help you implement training and reporting that drive the incident rate to zero.

Environmental Sustainability: More process than progress

11/18/2019

Environmental sustainability is neither a fad or a trend, but a philosophy with roots and tentacles that have been – and will continue – burrowing deep into administrative, clinical, financial and operational planning. The questions linger about how deeply, how pervasively and how quickly?

Telehealth and its role in facilities management

11/12/2019

Over the past few years, telehealth has been gaining in popularity providing patients with access to the specialty care they need. In this guest post, Jason “JD” Duigou, CIO of a company that provides healthcare service support products, talks about the role facilities management plays in telehealth.

Establishing and maintaining compliance with vendors to provide the best care

11/5/2019

Working with vendors can be challenging. In this guest post, Larry Lacombe, VP of program development, support and FM compliance at a company specializing in facilities management, safety, environment of care, emergency management and compliance, tells you how to provide quality care while remaining compliant.

The Importance of a Computerized Maintenance Management System

10/29/2019

It’s no secret that maintaining a functional, safe healing environment can be a full-time job, after all, the maintenance team needs to be ready at a moment’s notice. To provide extra time for their team members, facilities across the U.S. over the last decade have been implementing a Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) software intended to lower repair costs, ease work order management, boost productivity, meet compliance standards and increase daily efficiency while ensuring the hospital functions at its best.

Industry Voices - 10 Steps to workplace violence reduction in healthcare

9/30/2019

According to the American Institute of Stress, 25% of workers have felt like screaming or shouting because of job stress, and 10% are concerned about an individual at work who could become violent.

Unfortunately, these fears of violence are not unfounded, and in healthcare, it can be more than coworkers who become violent.

In Minnesota in 2014, a 68-year-old hospital patient attacked a team of nurses with a bar from the side of his bed. In Chicago in 2018, a hospital shooting left two innocent healthcare workers and a law enforcement officer dead, heightening healthcare leaders’ already existing fears about violence in the healing environment.

House calls are making a virtual revival.

8/21/2019

As healthcare providers, we know that telehealth allows physicians to deliver medical, health and education services by utilizing telecommunications and electronic information technologies. Telehealth supports long-distance communication through real-time video conferencing, remote patient monitoring or mobile alerts (such as targeted texts or mass notifications about certain disease outbreaks). Patients across the country can now connect to their doctors with the simple touch of a button.

10 Steps to Workplace Violence Reduction

7/17/2019

Workplace violence entails “any act or threat of physical violence, harassment, intimidation or other threatening disruptive behavior that occurs at the work site,” according to OSHA. With nearly 2 million American workers reporting that they have been victims of workplace violence each year, the time is now to act against this too-common occurrence.

Patients, not Paperwork

7/16/2019

Regulations are created for a reason – keeping patients safe and providing quality care. Today, physicians and facilities are looking for ways to reduce costs and save time, while still providing quality care. In this guest post, Larry Lacombe, VP of program development, support and FM compliance at a company specializing in facilities management, safety, environment of care, emergency management and compliance, offers a systematic approach to find which CMS burden reductions are best for your patients.

The Future of Telehealth and What it Means for Facilities Management

6/18/2019

While our healthcare industry has certainly advanced from the 20th century, telehealth is putting a 21st century spin on the old-fashioned house call. Now, instead of opening a door, patients simply need to open an app.

Medxcel Exec Stresses the Importance of Compliance Training

6/13/2019

Medxcel Vice President, Program Development, Support and FM Compliance Officer Larry Lacombe is quick to stress the importance of regulatory compliance in the healthcare field.  Lacombe is in charge of developing and implementing compliance programs for Medxcel to ensure that his firm’s nationwide network of hospitals is survey-ready, anytime of the day or night, for the Indianapolis-based company.

Data, communication and engagement

5/29/2019

Jennefer Pursifull, VP of Marketing and Damian Skelton, Area VP share insights with Health Facilities Management Magazine on the impacts of disengagement to a healthcare organization. They also cover the value formula to turn the page on a more engaged workforce and, in turn, a more profitable healthcare organization.

Regulatory Rollout: Keys to Educating Healthcare Facility Staff

5/13/2019

When staff are properly educated, healthcare facilities will find it much easier to comply with regulatory requirements. Larry Lacombe, VP of Program Development, Support and FM Compliance shares three recommendations with BOSS Magazine on what healthcare executives should consider to appropriately educate healthcare facility staff on regulatory compliance.

How to maintain compliance with third-party vendors

4/5/2019

All hospitals strive for 100 percent compliance. Having a safe, functional environment to provide the best care possible to patients is the ultimate goal for caregivers and executives alike.

Accreditation Prep Should Be Constant, but Watch for Current Trends

4/1/2019

Accreditation and compliance issues are constant concerns for quality improvement professionals, with new challenges frequently adding to the burden. The key to addressing the concerns is to take a long-term approach and not focus on upcoming surveys, several experts say, including Medxcel's VP of Program Development & Facilities Compliance Larry Lacombe.  

Building Analytics: The future of facility operations

4/1/2019

"How's it going today?" You probably hear this question every day.  While it's a casual greeting, when coming from your hospital's COO, they may not be just asking about you, but asking about their hospital, too.  The future of facilities operations will likely involve building analytics.  Medxcel's Director of Energy and Facility Performance Excellence, Jim Prince shared insights with HealthCare Business News on the importance of analytics and how to leverage technology for facility performance. 

Opioids and Workplace Violence: Is there a correlation?

3/6/2019

Workplace violence, including physical assaults and threats of assault directed toward persons at work or on duty, is a growing issue within the healthcare setting.  Many operate under the common belief that majority of violence occurs between co-workers. However, statistics show that 80 percent of incidents stem from patients.