Spring Cleaning Mentality, Always

Good morning!

Before I get to today’s topic, I have great news to share. It was an exciting surprise when I started reading my emails this morning that the daily report on how many patients we have with confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19 (18) was at its lowest point since late March 2020! Even better, as of this morning, we had ZERO adult ICU patients with COVID-19. I love getting my Friday started like that and I’m glad I had this opportunity to share it with you. We’re not totally out of this by any stretch, but it’s encouraging to see this type of positive news. If we want these numbers to stay low and get even lower, it’s essential that more Mississippians get vaccinated. If you haven’t gotten your vaccination yet, please do so – and encourage your friends and family to get it, too. It’s the most effective path to putting this pandemic in the past.

Now on to today's column.

Those of you who know me personally understand how I like things to be clean, tidy and orderly. When I was working full-time in the Adult Emergency Department for many, many years, the nurses, residents and attending physicians would often poke good-natured fun at me for my frequent announcements that “everyone should clean up their area.” And then I would be pleasantly persistent until they did. (This prompted a few gag gifts at my residency graduation.) Part of my passion for cleaning is genetic and part was nurtured by some amazing ED nurses – you know who you are.

I continue to have a strong belief we all should “clean up our area” and really consider “our area” to be the entire campus of UMMC and any facility with a U or Children’s of Mississippi logo on it.

As I walk around our beautiful campus, I often see trash discarded by people who didn’t take the time to properly dispose of it or who chose to walk right past it. Ditto for inside our buildings and common spaces, where trash can not only be a problem, but can make an area unsightly or unsafe.

There’s good news and bad news about this. The good news: Our four-person groundskeeping crew is picking up an average of 20 to 27 large bags of trash each week, the vast majority from the main campus and stadium parking lot, and some along I-55 and at the Farmer’s Market.

The bad news? There’s an average of 20 to 27 large bags of trash every week that our grounds crews have to pick up.

Outside our buildings, the most common discarded items during the last year – masks of all types – might not be surprising, although it’s certainly disappointing. In a “normal” year, drink bottles and food items make up a large percentage of the trash picked up on our grounds. And before 2020-21, the grounds crew picked up an average of about 16 to 20 bags of trash weekly.

It’s also important for us to pay attention to what needs to be repaired or cleaned as we walk to and from our work spaces or anywhere we find ourselves on campus. Is there a trash can that’s overflowing? A ceiling tile that’s hanging by a thread? Lights that are non-functional? A spill that needs to be mopped up?

I ask you to be part of the solution.

We are all stewards of our campus. We can all make the effort to pick up trash, on the grounds and inside our buildings, when we see it. Our housekeeping staff, groundskeepers and facilities workers can only do so much. These activities are certainly in their job descriptions, but they aren’t the only people responsible for them.

Ryan McMillan, who oversees the relationship with our housekeeping vendor, said he sees one scenario over and over, every day. Employees eat a meal somewhere on campus and leave their leftover food and trash behind. The same goes for dropping trash or other items on the grounds and not picking t up.

He urges employees to “reach down deep and look at your own integrity, and do the right thing.” It could be picking up a gum wrapper in a hallway. It could be alerting housekeeping that a bathroom needs some attention.

Don’t contribute to the problem, such as stacking trash on top of an overflowing trash can. Let housekeeping know when you see the big things that need attention by emailing hospitalhousekeeping@umc.edu.

Michael Switzer, who heads up Facilities Services, reminds us to be especially vigilant in the parking garages, campus entrances and public areas. They’re among the most visible points on campus to the public and where first impressions are made.  

If something is broken or needs attention from Facilities Services, anyone can put in a work order. Log in through the Intranet here to alert staff to a need by filling out a maintenance request under the “Administration” heading. It doesn’t have to be your immediate work area; Our entire campus should take ownership of what needs attention, just as you would in your own home.

Implications of an unkempt and/or unsafe environment are far-reaching for the Medical Center. The Joint Commission, the accrediting agency for hospitals including UMMC, has an expectation that hospitals provide a safe and clean environment for patients, employees and visitors. If a Joint Commission team visits campus (they can surprise us!) and sees something amiss, it’s listed as a “finding” on its inspection.

Our publicly reported patient satisfaction scores depend in part on perceptions about the cleanliness of campus, both inside and outside our buildings and hospitals. Perception is reality, and cleanliness impacts what people think about the quality of our academic, research and health care mission areas.

If we all make the effort to pick up trash when we see it, the Medical Center will be a more attractive place to work and learn. You are the eyes and ears on campus. When you see something that needs cleaning or fixing, let the right people know so they can give it attention as soon as possible.

It will take all of us, working together as a team, to realize a campus that is safe, tidy and looks as professional as the services we provide. Paying attention to the details will make all the difference. We have a beautiful campus and beautiful grounds. Let’s all do our part to make them a little better every day. I consider the whole campus to collectively be “our area.” Thank you for your efforts as we make progress every day, at the state’s only academic health sciences center, toward our goal of achieving A Healthier Mississippi.