There has been no clearer example of the importance of a healthcare environmental services department in our lifetime than during the COVID-19 pandemic. These teams, which are found across hospitals, long-term care facilities, clinics, and other such settings, are not just behind-the-scenes players. They are integral to patient care and worker safety.
What is Environmental Healthcare Management?
Professionals in this field ensure that patients and workers move safely throughout facilities and that patient rooms, treatment areas, and public spaces are cleaned and well-maintained.
It’s a role that involves infection control measures, outbreak or pandemic planning, isolation cleaning levels, emergency preparedness, and timely response. This means professionals in healthcare or hospital environmental services jobs, especially managers, must be able to develop, implement, and monitor healthy and safe operating systems and preventative maintenance in housekeeping, laundry, maintenance and transportation areas.
To do their job effectively, managers must understand the language of this field of work. Part of that involves becoming familiar with the various organizations and entities whose standards they must comply with.
Key Organizations Every Environmental Services Department Interacts With
Here is a look at some of the most common organizations those in healthcare and hospital environmental services jobs may interact with.
- Health Canada: This federal institution plays a significant role in maintaining and improving Canadians’ health. One of its duties is to establish guidelines to help prevent the spread of infection in healthcare settings. The guidelines are developed with the support of the National Advisory Committee on Infection Prevention and Control. Anyone working in this profession must be familiar with Health Canada’s relevant procedures.
- Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care: This ministry works to ensure that Ontario residents in long-term homes get the quality of care and quality of life they need and deserve. In 2022, The Fixing Long-Term Care Act came into effect to regulate the province’s sector. As part of this Act, the Ministry suggested "expanding and clarifying infection prevention and control (IPAC) roles and requirements to improve resident safety and quality of life."
- Provincial Infectious Diseases Advisory Committee (PIDAC): Part of Public Health Ontario, the PIDAC is made up of multidisciplinary healthcare professionals with expertise and experience in IPAC. These experts have created best practice documents, reports, and recommendations on matters related to communicable diseases, immunization, IPAC, and surveillance. Recommendations in PIDAC’s best practice documents are developed through literature reviews and consultations with experts in infectious disease, surveillance, communicable disease, and immunization.
The Education You Need to Land Healthcare and Hospital Environmental Services Jobs
Now that we’ve answered the question of what is environmental healthcare management and examined some of the regulatory bodies, you may be wondering how to launch a career in this in-demand field.
Centennial College’s Healthcare Environmental Services Management is a two-year program that prepares you for the challenges of the profession. The foundation of your education will involve learning to develop, implement, and monitor healthy and safe operating systems and preventative maintenance. But you will delve deeper to learn about the emergence of new technologies and modernized processes to fight antibiotic-resistant “superbugs,” as well as concepts of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and going "green" for a healthier environment and reducing pollution and the carbon footprint.
As our healthcare environments continue to evolve, there is an increasing need for professionals with the skill set to protect people from environmental hazards in various healthcare settings.
By: Izabela Shubair