Mar 25, 2013

An Electronic Health Record for Healthcare Facility Equipment

A recent article in Health Facilities Management discusses the ability to integrate medical equipment with an electronic health record (EHR). The concept makes a lot of sense. Why wouldn’t you want patient data to go straight from the machine to a health record? The ability to integrate the two wasn’t always there, but now that it is becoming reality, it would result in increased efficiency, improved workflow and improved communication.

Mar 01, 2013

Dude, where are my keys?

Reading an article about asset management from American City and County got me thinking about my own assets. At what point do you decide you need a system in place to help monitor your assets? Without a doubt, I would pay for a system to tell me where my keys are in the morning to prevent me from getting to work at 8:02, which would put a stop to the inevitable up-down from the lady who’s been there since 7:30—but that’s beside the point.

Feb 19, 2013

Is your maintenance management system keeping up with your healthcare facility’s change?

It’s no secret that healthcare facilities are changing. The anticipated changes in how and where healthcare is delivered are reflected in the current and planned construction projects.

Jan 17, 2013

Beware of zombie roofs! (Or any zombie equipment that may be lurking)

I recently read an article on FacilitiesNet about zombie roofs and it inspired me to discuss this on a broader scale. I’m sure your first thought is: what in the world is a zombie roof? Well let me explain: a zombie roof is one “that died long ago but lingers on,” waiting to be replaced. You live in fear of your zombie roof because it could fail at any moment, bringing with it any number of disasters or tenant complaints. More than just your roof can be a zombie; any of the equipment in your facility can fall into this category.

Dec 28, 2012

How will you make 2013 a better year for your facility?

It’s that time of year again, when we start taking stock of this past year and looking ahead to the next. End of year reflection allows you to look at where you’ve been and what you’ve accomplished. It’s also a good time to set goals for the upcoming year.

Nov 19, 2012

Keeping Healthcare Facilities Operational 24/7/365

After Superstorm Sandy, this statement in the Reuter’s article, “Insight – Sandy shows hospitals unprepared when disaster hits home” was a wake-up call to the healthcare industry: “US hospitals are far from ready to protect patients when disaster strikes.”

Ouch.

Nov 07, 2012

How can you move your local government from good to great?

Jim Collins, author of “Good to Great”, gave a keynote speech at the recent ICMA conference on this topic. He points out that good is the enemy of great because many organizations get stuck on what’s “good enough” and don’t search hard enough for changes to achieve greatness. The focus becomes what to do and there’s not enough attention on what to stop doing. Sound familiar? In your organization, do you have processes that are just “good enough”? Ones you keep because it’s what you’ve always done? In talking with a client recently, they said they were skeptical of using FacilityDude’s MaintenanceEdge at first because what they had always done—dealing with phone calls and emails about work orders—seemed “just fine”. After only a few months of using MaintenanceEdge, the client admits it’s a vast improvement over what they were doing and they’ve experienced a considerable increase in efficiency. These are the types of changes you can make to move your local government to great.

Oct 17, 2012

Healthcare Facilities Costliest Item Is …

What equipment costs you the most in time and money to maintain?

Could you answer the question? Were you absolutely certain of your answer? If you had to back up your answer with proof, could you?

Sep 28, 2012

ENERGY STAR Aids Local Governments in Improving Energy Efficiency and Leading by Example

According to the EPA, government agencies spend more than $10 billion a year on energy, yet nearly a third of energy used to run government buildings goes to waste. The ENERGY STAR certification program is a simple and effective way for building managers to increase their energy efficiency and realize those savings while also showing their environmental stewardship. In 2011, almost $2.3 billion was saved annually, thanks to the nearly 16,500 certified buildings in this program.

Sep 18, 2012

Healthcare Facilities Go Wireless to Improve Service

Experts predict wireless medical technologies will eliminate up to 40 percent of waste in health care processes and 25 percent of avoidable admissions according to the article “Wireless Devices Incite ‘Medical Spring’” in the June issue of Hospital & Health Networks.