Carilion Clinic: EVS Zoning Strategy Yields Remarkable Results for the Health System  

TeleTracking client, Carilion Clinic, faced operational challenges within their environmental service (EVS) department, affecting their total turn time for bed cleaning. Learn how Carilion took action to address the decline in EVS performance that was impacting patient flow and the success achieved with their strategic approach.      

Challenge 

Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital’s Environmental Services (EVS) department faced significant operational challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. Staffing shortages and the reprioritization of tasks led to a deviation from best practices, causing a noticeable decline in performance. By June 2023, these issues were evident, with the total turn time for bed cleaning rising to 143 minutes, contributing to operational inefficiencies and impacting patient flow. Additionally, there were 528 bed clean cancellations out of 3,641 total cleans, highlighting the need for a strategic approach to address these issues. 

Action 

To address these challenges, the EVS team, in collaboration with key hospital operations and patient flow stakeholders, implemented a zoning strategy in the first quarter of 2024. This strategy involved leveraging TeleTracking’s workflow automation technology to manage housekeeper assignments efficiently across specific zones within the hospital. By minimizing the need for staff to travel across the hospital to clean dirty beds, the team was able to enhance efficiency and reduce turnaround times. Additionally, Carilion utilized TeleTracking’s data and analytics solution, to continuously monitor and analyze operational data, ensuring that the zoning efforts were aligned with the hospital’s broader operational goals and making real-time adjustments as needed. 

Result 

The implementation of the zoning strategy yielded remarkable and sustained results. By June 2024, the total turn time for bed cleaning had decreased to an impressive 60 minutes, with 4,026 beds cleaned, and only 273 bed clean cancellations. These improvements have not only been maintained since their implementation but have also established a new benchmark for operational efficiency at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital. The success of this initiative underscores the effectiveness of combining targeted actions with advanced analytics and workflow automation to overcome operational challenges and optimize resource utilization.