A panel of facilities management infection control experts recently connected effective facility design, operations and management to the ability to control hospital-acquired infections, according to an article on the Facility Executive website.
“Physical space and how it’s used, maintained and managed is the first line of defense against the spread of infection-causing bacteria at a healthcare facility,” said Peter Bulgarelli, managing executive director, JLL Healthcare Solutions.
Overlooking facility design, operations and management could prove costly.
Medicare penalized 758 hospitals a total of $364 million in fiscal 2016 for having higher-than-expected infection rates and other patient safety problems.