Match Capacity and Demand:
Institute a Room-Cleaning Strategy
Cleaning rooms and beds in optimal time improves the availability of inpatient beds upon discharge of previous patients. Efficient room and bed turnaround streamlines patient placement and overall system-wide patient flow. The person responsible for cleaning beds on a unit should be clearly defined, for example, a bed turnover assistant (BTA) or dedicated housekeeper. As soon as a patient bed is vacated, the nurse assigns a prioritization number to the bed based on demand. The nurse notifies the BTA by pager that a bed is vacant and ready to be cleaned and indicates the prioritization status for cleaning. (Status One: Bed should be ready in 15 to 30 minutes; Status Two: Bed should be ready in 31 to 60 minutes; Status Three: Bed should be ready in 61 to 90 minutes.) The BTA prioritizes the cleaning of the bed, as appropriate, and uses a pager to notify the nurse as soon as the bed is ready for patient admission.
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