4 ms·

People are rarely satisfied with this answer but its demonstrably true and was proven time and time again at the facilities ClearHealth managed. 1) Feverent, a

People are rarely satisfied with this answer but its demonstrably true and was proven time and time again at the facilities ClearHealth managed. 1) Feverent, almost religious, adherence to hand washing. 2) No neck ties or dangly sleves whatsoever in buildings that house patients. 3) Change from stainless steel hardware for doors and travel touch surfaces back to "brass/copper". Those are simple, virtually free, things that have a very meaningful impact on outcomes. Some of the most viscous fights I've had with hospital boards were over what amounted to the "uglier look" of copper/brass. It is an extremely unpopular topic in healthcare but the area that takes a lot of effort to solve but also has a tremendously out-weighted benefit is reducing preventable medical errors. My opinion after being in healthcare ~20 years is that preventable medical error is absolutely in the top 3 causes of death in the US. The easiest subset of it to resolve is prescription related errors, we have all the tools to resolve those but not the will.

linkdink 4y ago
Well, I'm satisfied with that answer. But maybe that's because I think brass and copper look better than stainless steel.
BitwiseFool 4y ago
>"3) Change from stainless steel hardware for doors and travel touch surfaces back to "brass/copper". Because of the pandemic I started encountering doors that have a shoe pull, where you can use your foot to open the door instead of having to touch the handle. I really hope these catch on, but they are still quite rare.
- snuxoll 4y ago
  Also stop getting rid of paper towels if you still have manual faucets. Nothing grosses me out more than going to a public restroom with only air dryers, but manually operated faucets that now require you use clean hands to turn off after you turned them on with presumably dirty hands.
  - bombcar 4y ago
    Just like the door foot things, you’re supposed to Bruce lee the faucet afterwards and turn it off with your foot.
  - themaninthedark 4y ago
    Use your elbow to turn off the faucet(as long as it is lever type, if twist type then good luck). I want paper towels for the door knobs/pulls and the trash can should be located near the door so I can throw it out after opening the door.
    - stackbutterflow 4y ago
      Or make the door push to leave, pull to go in. I don't understand why it's not a thing.
      - themaninthedark 4y ago
        Bathroom doors are usually off a small hallway, sometimes a busy one. By design, they don't have windows. So you run the risk of hitting people with the door. Also, you will still need to interact with the door to open the lock. Having a door that unlocks if you push on it would be a bad thing for people who use the bathroom with their children.
haberman 4y ago
> Change from stainless steel hardware for doors and travel touch surfaces back to "brass/copper". I have never heard of this. I had to Google it to even understand your meaning. It's eye-opening to learn that different metal surfaces have an effect on the spread of germs.
- Ballu 4y ago
  Could you post some good links you read/browsed? Google is providing too much junk and difficult to reach any high level conclusion.
  - astura 4y ago
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antimicrobial_properties_of_copper https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antimicrobial_properties_of_co...
- bombcar 4y ago
  Copper is a well-known drain additive to kill roots.
galangalalgol 4y ago
What about the incentive for non profit hospitals to grow so that they can better compensate leadership, resulting in capital that must be spent on facilities and equipment to retain non profit status. Leading to a spiral? It is hard to compare details of the systems and outcomes across countries, but surely we can find where the money apent ends up? Construction firms? Doctors? Equipment manufacturers? Hospital administration?
- pc86 4y ago
  Is there a rule that says a certain percentage of revenue must be spent on a facility to retain non-profit status? It can be spent on equipment and salaries, both of which would benefit much more than upgrading the building to no patient care benefit. This is anecdotal but the number one complaint I've heard from physicians about patient care is facilities being run and and managed by non-clinical MPH/MHA "business types" whose primary focus is almost invariably cutting costs, increasing physician workloads, and fighting salary increases tooth and nail.
  - sgent 4y ago
    No, but there is a "rule of thumb" that a hospital will prefer private insurance patients to medicaid patients (due to reimbursement), and private insurance patients will go to hospitals with newer and nicer facilities. If you want the elective hip replacement patient, then having a newly remodeled orthopedic ward / office building is critical. Patients probably can't tell one doctor or nurse from another, and hospitals don't advertise on actual quality measurements like staffing ratios...
caskstrength 4y ago
> Those are simple, virtually free, things that have a very meaningful impact on outcomes. Some of the most viscous fights I've had with hospital boards were over what amounted to the "uglier look" of copper/brass. Am I the only one who finds copper/brass much more aesthetically pleasing than plain and boring stainless steel?
- majani 4y ago
  It was most likely a retrofitting discussion. Copper doesn't blend with modern designs and color schemes so retrofitting it would be ugly

linkdink 4y ago

Well, I'm satisfied with that answer. But maybe that's because I think brass and copper look better than stainless steel.

BitwiseFool 4y ago

>"3) Change from stainless steel hardware for doors and travel touch surfaces back to "brass/copper". Because of the pandemic I started encountering doors that have a shoe pull, where you can use your foot to open the door instead of having to touch the handle. I really hope these catch on, but they are still quite rare.

snuxoll 4y ago
Also stop getting rid of paper towels if you still have manual faucets. Nothing grosses me out more than going to a public restroom with only air dryers, but manually operated faucets that now require you use clean hands to turn off after you turned them on with presumably dirty hands.
- bombcar 4y ago
  Just like the door foot things, you’re supposed to Bruce lee the faucet afterwards and turn it off with your foot.
- themaninthedark 4y ago
  Use your elbow to turn off the faucet(as long as it is lever type, if twist type then good luck). I want paper towels for the door knobs/pulls and the trash can should be located near the door so I can throw it out after opening the door.
  - stackbutterflow 4y ago
    Or make the door push to leave, pull to go in. I don't understand why it's not a thing.
    - themaninthedark 4y ago
      Bathroom doors are usually off a small hallway, sometimes a busy one. By design, they don't have windows. So you run the risk of hitting people with the door. Also, you will still need to interact with the door to open the lock. Having a door that unlocks if you push on it would be a bad thing for people who use the bathroom with their children.

haberman 4y ago

> Change from stainless steel hardware for doors and travel touch surfaces back to "brass/copper". I have never heard of this. I had to Google it to even understand your meaning. It's eye-opening to learn that different metal surfaces have an effect on the spread of germs.

Ballu 4y ago
Could you post some good links you read/browsed? Google is providing too much junk and difficult to reach any high level conclusion.
- astura 4y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antimicrobial_properties_of_copper https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antimicrobial_properties_of_co...
bombcar 4y ago
Copper is a well-known drain additive to kill roots.

galangalalgol 4y ago

What about the incentive for non profit hospitals to grow so that they can better compensate leadership, resulting in capital that must be spent on facilities and equipment to retain non profit status. Leading to a spiral? It is hard to compare details of the systems and outcomes across countries, but surely we can find where the money apent ends up? Construction firms? Doctors? Equipment manufacturers? Hospital administration?

pc86 4y ago
Is there a rule that says a certain percentage of revenue must be spent on a facility to retain non-profit status? It can be spent on equipment and salaries, both of which would benefit much more than upgrading the building to no patient care benefit. This is anecdotal but the number one complaint I've heard from physicians about patient care is facilities being run and and managed by non-clinical MPH/MHA "business types" whose primary focus is almost invariably cutting costs, increasing physician workloads, and fighting salary increases tooth and nail.
- sgent 4y ago
  No, but there is a "rule of thumb" that a hospital will prefer private insurance patients to medicaid patients (due to reimbursement), and private insurance patients will go to hospitals with newer and nicer facilities. If you want the elective hip replacement patient, then having a newly remodeled orthopedic ward / office building is critical. Patients probably can't tell one doctor or nurse from another, and hospitals don't advertise on actual quality measurements like staffing ratios...

caskstrength 4y ago

> Those are simple, virtually free, things that have a very meaningful impact on outcomes. Some of the most viscous fights I've had with hospital boards were over what amounted to the "uglier look" of copper/brass. Am I the only one who finds copper/brass much more aesthetically pleasing than plain and boring stainless steel?

majani 4y ago
It was most likely a retrofitting discussion. Copper doesn't blend with modern designs and color schemes so retrofitting it would be ugly