A Best of the Best Program to Spotlight, Pathway Senior Living’s Microfiber Cleaning System has made the company’s communities more ecologically friendly, while reducing infection rates and cutting costs.
Pathway Senior Living has reduced the number of cleaning products it uses by 50 percent, increased the number of apartments housekeepers can clean during an eight-hour shift from 16 to 20, and reduced the amount of water required to clean apartments from 20 gallons per 15 apartments to just one. At the same time, it has reduced cross-contamination of germs from one apartment to the next.
The secret to these eco-friendly, cost-saving, infection-reducing outcomes is a state-of-the-art microfiber cleaning system that Pathway has adopted in all 10 of its communities. Microfiber is a manmade product approved by federal agencies as a best practice for health facilities. It combines polyester and nylon fibers that are 1/16 the thickness of human hair. The fibers are positively charged, which then pick up the negatively charged dust. The housekeepers can use a different mop head and rags for each apartment and common area, and the materials can be cleaned and reused 500 times.
“In the last couple of years, we continued to battle these flu outbreaks,” says Maria Oliva, chief people officer. “We felt there’s got to be a better way to keep from spreading germs.”
While the Joint Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency hail the microfiber cleaning system, converting does require a sizable upfront financial investment. Pathway required a mop and five reusable microfiber rags for each unit and common room. “The quantities are very large when you make the initial investment,” says Sandra Davidson, director of operations.
But Pathway believes that the long-term potential cost savings are well worth it, starting with the mops which, in addition to having a long life, also have an ergonomic design, are lightweight enough to use on walls, and eliminate the need for heavy bucket refills.
Overall, the system is easier on both employees’ backs and the time clock. “Staff will be able to reallocate time to other tasks,” says Oliva. “Having the ability to improve our green benefits is also a plus.”
A few housekeepers have been so impressed with the microfiber cleaning system that they have begun to use it in their own homes.
Suggested Articles:
