Going Clean Holyoke Medical Center Saves Money by Promoting a Better Environment

Fourteen thousand pounds of plastic is a lot of waste. But that’s how much of that material Holyoke Medical Center prevented from winding up in landfills last year, thanks to one simple change.

“We made a switch from disposable sharps containers to reusable containers,” said Neil Demers, the hospital’s manager of Environmental Services. That move kept 14,051 pounds of plastic out of dump sites, to be exact — and was recognized recently with an award from Stericycle, a medical waste disposal company. That firm promotes ‘green’ medical products, among them its Bio Systems reusable containers, which have, to date, prevented more than 73 million plastic containers from ending up in landfills.

“The savings to us, actually, was not significant dollar-wise,” said Demers. “The focus was simply not to put it in the landfill.”

But other initiatives launched by his department have been green-minded in more ways than one.

For instance, housekeeping supplies have been revamped with a series of equipment changes intended to reduce the use of harsh chemicals — moves that protect patients while saving money.

For instance, HMC has begun using a steam vapor cleaning system to disinfect beds, walls, bathroom fixtures, and other items in patient rooms.

“Instead of using a regular disinfectant or heavy-duty cleaners, we’re able to do the same cleaning process with steam,” Demers said, explaining that the device basically employs a white towel at the end of a steam-producing unit.

“It’s very effective; it will even take gum off the floor,” he added, and it does so without employing the chemicals that could potentially irritate patients. “Some people have sensitivities to bleach and to regular chemicals.”

The hospital is also evaluating a floor scrubber that removes finishes without using any heavy-duty cleaners or floor stripper. The machine uses only water and a floor pad to perform regular cleaning and maintenance, and no chemical odors are discharged into the air to irritate chemically sensitive patients or staff. “We keep working to find items that don’t have those odors,” he said.

At the Mop

But the most significant change so far is one that’s decidedly low-tech: the switch from loop mops to microfiber mops throughout the facility.

“We’ve been evaluating that for a number of years,” Demers said. “We found a system we liked and took it to senior management, and they OKed the funding for it.”

But it’s funding that promises to pay for itself many times over with savings on traditional chemicals and water use.

“It’s really improved the overall cleaning, and we’ve reduced our water and chemical usage,” he explained.

Microfiber mops consist of a lightweight handle with a maneuverable flat, rectangular head. A microfiber pad attaches to the mop head with velcro. Fresh microfiber pads soak in a basin of cleaning solution on a cleaning cart. In each room, a clean cloth is taken from the basin, hand-wrung, and dropped flat on the floor. The velcro attaches the cloth to the mop, which is then ready for use.

In a typical setting, the worker uses one or two pads to clean a patient room. After use, the worker easily removes the soiled pad, which is set aside for laundering. Used pads are not returned to the cleaning solution, so the solution does not become contaminated or need replenishing.

The Sustainable Hospital Project — a program out of UMass Lowell that acts as a resource for hospitals seeking to implement more efficient, environmentally friendly practices — strongly supports the transition from loop mops to microfiber, for a variety of reasons:

• Cleaning staffs prefer microfiber mops because they’re more efficient and less tiring to use. “We have a mostly female housekeeping staff,” Demers said, “and, ergonomically, the old mops were very heavy and difficult to use. They’d use two steps; they’d dry-mop the floors and then damp-mop using the same mop. The microfiber mops are extremely light, and do a much better job.” And the ease of use — lighter weight, no wringing — means less potential for fatigue and injury.
• It’s a better mopping technique. Microfiber is made up of strong, lint-free synthetic fibers, each of which is split during manufacturing, making microfiber effective for mopping. The tiny fibers make the fabric very absorbent, so the mop holds sufficient water for cleaning, yet doesn’t drip. As a result, the pad doesn’t need to be replenished, and the floor is merely damp and quickly dries after cleaning, rather than being visibly wet.
• Microfiber mops prevent cross-contamination between rooms. Soiled loop mops are rinsed in the cleaning solution, requiring frequent changes of cleaning solution to minimize the risk of cross-contamination. Microfiber mops are used for only one room and then washed, so the contamination risk is eliminated. In addition, concentrated cleaners often contain hazardous chemicals that can cause respiratory irritation, so reducing the volume of cleaners used minimizes worker exposure to these harsh chemicals.

“We used to use the same mop for three patient rooms, so there was always that risk of cross-contamination,” Demers said. “Now the rooms are cleaner, and instead of emptying the bucket of water every three rooms, there’s a bucket of 10 mops filled to a certain level, and there’s no waste. It should pay for itself; the hospital has cut its chemical usage by 75{06cf2b9696b159f874511d23dbc893eb1ac83014175ed30550cfff22781411e5}, and we’ve got significant water savings as well.”

Bottom Line

Indeed, the cost savings is a major benefit of microfiber mops. Although the initial purchase costs for microfiber mops are about twice that of loop mops, the useful life of a microfiber mop is about 10 times as long as a loop mop.

In addition, the reduction in water and chemicals yields considerable savings, while the reduced mopping time frees the staff to perform other tasks; workers’ compensation claims are likely to be reduced as well, due to the lower potential for injury. Finally, microfiber mops can be laundered in standard washing machines, while loop mops are usually sent out for commercial laundering at higher cost.

Such savings might not seem like much by themselves, but at a time when community hospitals are struggling with profit margins — and Holyoke Medical Center is certainly in that boat — they can add up and make a difference.

“We do anything we can to save,” Demers said, adding that green initiatives are always a work in progress. “Something might come to our attention, some new technology. A vendor or a friendly hospital might point you in the right direction.”

In fact, environmental staff in different hospitals often share ideas, Demers said, which is happening now with Holyoke’s microfiber mops.

“People have been asking us how they work,” he said. “Hopefully, that trend will continue. The days of the loop mops are over, I think.”

As are the days of non-recyclable sharps containers and certain harsh chemicals, at least at HMC. And that’s just the beginning.

“It’s an ongoing process,” Demers said. “There are a lot of people collaborating on these projects, from our housekeeping staff all the way up to senior management.

“Look at something as simple as paper towels,” he added. “Going to rolls from multifolds cuts down on usage and saves money. We’ve made those conversions wherever we can. In total, it really amounts to something.”