When hiring a medical office cleaning service, you can’t afford to take chances.
In any other business, substandard cleaning is a health and safety hazard. But it’s rarely a life or death situation. In healthcare facilities, the risks are much greater. Pathogens are more dangerous. Infections are more frequent. And many patients are at higher risk of illness and fatality.
Despite these risks, some healthcare cleaning providers still try to get away with substandard work. So if you’re hiring a medical office cleaning service, you’ll want to watch out for these red flags.
Warning Signs of a Low-Quality Medical Office Cleaning Service
1. They Offer Suspiciously Low Rates
Medical office cleaning services are more intensive — and therefore more expensive — than standard cleaning services. If your facility is on a tight budget, it’s tempting to opt for a low-cost cleaning service. That’s an easy way to land yourself in trouble.
With low-cost medical cleaning contractors, short-term savings typically lead to long-term pain. The only way to provide a cheap medical cleaning service is to underinvest in your cleaning staff, cleaning products, or cleaning protocols. There’s simply no way to reduce medical cleaning costs without also reducing quality of service.
2. They Lack a Proper Medical Office Cleaning Program
At JAN-PRO®, our medical office cleaning services are governed by JAN-PRO MedMetrix®. This unique program includes specialized standards and protocols for medical facility sanitation and disinfection.
To offer medical office cleaning services, JAN-PRO owners must receive MedMetrix® certification. This requires specialized education in:
- Disinfection protocols for specific areas in medical facilities
- AORN, CDC, OSHA, and Joint Commission standards
- Exposure control protocols
- Bloodborne pathogen protocols
- Incident reporting and documentation
Unfortunately, some cleaning contractors will offer medical cleaning services without putting a specialized program in place. Instead, they insist that their non-medical cleaning experience has already prepared them for the challenges of healthcare facilities. Their results often tell a different story, putting staff and patients at risk.
3. They Ignore Indoor Air Quality Concerns
Air quality is a concern in any workplace, but it’s especially pressing in medical facilities. Indoor air pollution from cleaning products and dust is linked with a host of respiratory health problems. Naturally, these problems are even worse for individuals with preexisting respiratory difficulties, such as influenza, pneumonia, asthma, emphysema, or lung cancer.
If your medical office cleaning provider ignores air quality, your staff and your patients will suffer the consequences. But if your cleaning team takes steps to prevent indoor air pollution, everyone can breathe a little easier.
Here are three important steps that your cleaning service can take:
- Use vacuums with HEPA filtration, which stops dust and allergens from re-entering the air.
- Use microfiber cleaning textiles, which do a better job of trapping dust and particulate matter.
- Use greener cleaning supplies and disinfectants, which minimize harsh and irritating fumes.
4. They Follow Substandard Security Protocols
Medical offices contain sensitive patient data and controlled narcotics, so they’re prime targets for criminals. So if you’re hiring a new cleaning service, it’s crucial that they have rigorous security systems in place.
This applies to both their staffing practices and their onsite protocols. You need to be confident that they’re hiring trustworthy people. And you need to know that they’re taking steps to keep your site secure during cleaning.
Here are some of the steps that your cleaning service can take to ensure your site’s security:
- Detailed background checks when hiring cleaners
- Education for cleaning staff in security best practices
- Easy-to-identify uniforms and badges
- Bonding and insurance for cleaning services
It’s also important that you have distinct security protocols in place for your business. Every healthcare facility has a unique set of security concerns, and your cleaning plan should reflect any vulnerabilities unique to your business.
Want a medical office cleaning service you can trust? Call JAN-PRO at (866) 355-1064 to learn more about our MedMetrix® program and get a FREE estimate.