Cleaning a memory care facility requires flexibility. It is important to take into account resident routines, room access, and activities and care schedules. The memory care facility’s leadership should have a system in place that enables the cleaning staff to document what they were able to complete. The staff also has to be able to communicate with the facility’s leadership to explain the rationale for what they were unable to complete.
For memory care facilities in Baton Rouge, Gonzales and Lafayette, the system in place to monitor cleaning is just as vital as the individual cleaning tasks.
There are some key distinctions between traditional senior care facility cleaning and memory care facility cleaning.
For memory care facility cleaning, the focus is on continuing to perform a cleaning task on a schedule while taking into account a resident’s routine. Memory care facility cleaning requires documenting what was completed, what was not completed, and providing leadership with a means to track what requires follow-up.
Memory care communities are never empty. Residents live there and staff caregivers work there. Also, other routine activities occur and are coordinated with memory care facility cleaning.
With all this in mind, what is required to develop an effective memory care facility cleaning system?
The senior living and memory care facility cleaning services offered by Come Back Clean are comprehensive and include a number of services designed to meet the cleaning needs of memory care communities.
The scope of work should describe more than the elements of the task. It should answer a variety of other questions including:
- When is the work permitted to occur?
- What does the department do when it cannot access a resident room?
- Who is notified about unfinished work?
- How is work activity documented?
- Which locations require regular work activity?
Come Back Clean works in the Baton Rouge, Lafayette and Gonzales markets as well as surrounding communities.
Staff is scheduled to perform work around resident activities and meals.
The program is flexible enough to be implemented in memory care, assisted living and independent living communities.
Understandably, a dining room may not be scheduled for cleaning if it is currently being used and an empty office may not be available for cleaning. A resident room may not be scheduled for cleaning if it is currently being used. Activity rooms may require cleaning before and/or after an activity and may not be available for cleaning during an activity.
The first step in the Come Back Clean process is to perform a walkthrough to assess the needs of the facility. The assessment helps determine work activity for common areas, resident rooms and laundry. Based on the assessment, a proposal outlining the costs associated with the service is developed. Once the proposal is approved, a start date is determined.
This is extremely important when speaking about the cleaning of memory care facilities, as the cleaning scope has to take into consideration the real challenges of the environment.
The main focus of the contracted cleaning company is to do the work they are contracted to do, which is to clean. They are not there to take charge of the care of the patients.
How Do You Handle Access to Resident Rooms?
There are several circumstances that can prevent a scheduled room from being available for cleaning.
The cleaning company has to do the best they can. Depending on the circumstances, the company may not be able to clean a scheduled room. The company has to document what happened and notify a designated person at the care facility. The company is not required to make a judgment about what the next step may be. The documentation is to provide a record of the company’s work and to inform the care facility what next steps, if any, may be required.
The app developed by Come Back Clean allows care facilities to capture all of the documentation described above.
The app also provides care facility leadership the ability to capture and communicate documentation that outlines services that could not be performed because care facility staff did not give access to the resident’s room.
What Is the Appropriate Cleaning Schedule for Common Areas, Dining Areas and Public Restrooms?
While there are specific cleaning procedures for all areas of a memory care community, the needs of various community spaces are often different.
According to Come Back Clean, areas in the scope of services include resident rooms, common areas, restrooms, offices, dining areas, and activity areas. The team determines the level of service needed for each area based on the frequency of usage.
An example of a practical scope may appear as follows:
- Resident rooms: Scope of work and process for access and/or documentation.
- Common Areas: Which areas are prioritized for routine cleaning and availability.
- Dining Areas: Anticipation of meal times and/or schedule.
- Activity Areas: Access for augmentation of community activities.
- Public Restrooms: Routine cleaning and/or Routine inspection.
- Offices: Scope of work and/or access.
- Laundry: Services provided and documentation.
The focus of the table is to define the cleaning requirements for various areas of the facility. There is no specified routine for clearing each area of the facility as published by Come Back Clean.
Based on the priorities of the memory care community, areas may require additional or alternative cleaning services.
For example, a memory care community in need of a cleaning service in Baton Rouge, cleaning service in Gonzales or cleaning service in Lafayette may establish their own set of cleaning priorities based on the needs of the community as opposed to establishing priorities for a random sample of memory care communities.
Why Is Dementia Training Important for Housekeeping Staff?
Housekeeping staff are not directly providing care for individuals with Dementia; however, staff should be aware of Dementia to be able to function in the care environment.
Come Back Clean indicates that team members working in facilities undergo training in understanding dementia and awareness-resident abuse. The program outlines background screening and drug testing, and Come Back Clean operates as an insurance and bonding company.
Being a trained dementia awareness team member does not give an individual the license to become a nurse, caregiver or a medical professional.
This differentiation is of uttermost importance.
Dementia awareness training is more inclined to help the team members appreciate the facility’s environment and assist them in appreciating the need to adhere to facility’s guidelines while undertaking their duties.
It is the responsibility of team members to adhere to the facility’s stipulations regarding how and when to carry out duties.
What sort of latitude do you have to make your own decisions regarding your duties? It depends on the nature of the situation. For example, if an Obstacle prevents a particular task from being done, then the employee should not continue doing that task and should notify someone responsible.
What Sort of Documents Will Assist You in Carrying Out Your Task?
Documentation is essential to facilitate communication. The type of documentation required may vary. It is ideal to have documentation that captured what was done and what was not done, as well as the reason for the omission. It is also important to document why a resident did not require the service, and to log refusals. Come Back Clean states that each facility is assigned a customized document to capture various services performed. Additional features may include logging when staff assisted a resident in laundry, or when staff assisted a resident to use the bathroom.
The facility page also mentions checklists and supervisor notes. It describes customized reports and notes procedures for a facility to generate its own reports. Finally, it describes quality assurance visits.
For a director or operations manager, this means they can document and retain records of the cleaning process, as opposed to having to rely on fleeting orality.
This becomes essential when considering the many rooms, and shared facilities, within a building that require cleaning.
It also indicates to managers what information is available to be reviewed when a concern is raised. Rather than presume an omission, documentation indicates if a room was accessible, or if it was logged as ‘refused to be cleaned.’
Documentation is a substitute for communication, and aids in focusing communication to the pertinent concerns.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should a memory care facility cleaning plan include?
A memory care cleaning plan outlines the procedures for each service area, the cleaning tasks, the process for accessing resident rooms, the plan for assisting with and/or participating in the activities for memory care residents, the plan for addressing the needs of residents and staff, and the procedures and frequency for reporting concerns to the administrative staff. The plan should not treat the facility as an unoccupied, or unused, commercial facility.
Can the cleaning staff modify the plan to accommodate residents’ daily activities?
Yes. The goal of a memory care cleaning plan should be to adjust the staff activities to accommodate the residents’ daily schedules. Come Back Clean states its staff can accomplish this goal.
What happens if a resident does not want their room cleaned?
Come Back Clean states that, upon request, employees are to explain the situation to the resident and to document the incident and explain it to the appropriate staff member at the location. The employee is not to elaborate on the situation beyond this documentation. The employee is to ensure there is documentation that the regular service was not performed and that the facility was notified.
Can employees of Come Back Clean, a memory care facility cleaning company, clean resident rooms and common areas?
Yes. Based on the information provided, Come Back Clean employees can clean common areas, resident rooms, public restrooms, staff offices and other areas agreed upon by the facility.
Do employees of Come Back Clean, a memory care facility cleaning company, provide care to residents?
No. Come Back Clean states that employees are to perform only the services agreed to by the facility. Employees are not to provide care or services to residents.
How does leadership of the facility verify that cleaning was done?
Come Back Clean states that employees of the company use a customized application to document the services that they performed. The application allows employees to document services performed, including rooms that have been cleaned, resident care services, and refusals. Employees can take other documentation, including notes and room-by-room logs, to verify services performed.
How does Come Back Cleaning get started with a new facility?
The first step is to take a walkthrough of the property to understand the needs of the facility. Next, Come Back Clean creates a proposal based on the information gathered during the walkthrough. After the proposal is discussed and a scope is determined, Come Back Clean works with the facility to determine the most convenient date to begin cleaning.
What Should a Memory Care Cleaning Program Look Like?
It should incorporate the requirements of the facility leadership in a way that the cleaning staff can easily adhere to. Thus, the program should consist of a defined program scope, personnel, and processes to regulate access to client rooms and program refusals, as well as a mechanism to communicate to the program sponsor any irregular events that transpired during the program.
Come Back Cleaning Service is located in Baton Rouge, Gonzales, and Lafayette.
If your current facility cleaning service program requires a management change, contact Come Back Clean to discuss your options.
