Healthcare has changed drastically in the last decade. Along with clinical and regulatory changes, the systems, technology, and required maintenance at healthcare facilities have all evolved. For healthcare CEOs and facility managers dealing with those changes, every task is important – and none more pressing than achieving and maintaining regulatory compliance from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and state health departments. 

Compliance covers many aspects of a facility’s environment. Everything from the rate of air change to the visibility of exit lights makes a difference. Small wonder, then, that facility managers at hospitals, outpatient clinics, assisted living centers, skilled nursing homes, and other sites spend a tremendous amount of time managing regulatory compliance. According to a 2019 survey conducted by Lee Company, healthcare facility managers spend at least 25-30% of their time managing, documenting, and reporting on regulatory compliance. 

Keep in mind, that doesn’t count the time their team spends performing the necessary inspections or maintaining the systems involved. 

Compliance itself is non-negotiable. Noncompliance impacts patients, employees, and the community at large. Noncompliance also carries the financial risks of penalties and lost income: According to published data, hospitals depend on Medicare and Medicaid for 40-60% of their funding. 

Fortunately, the way a facility stays compliant – and demonstrates compliance through a mountain of required paperwork – doesn’t require the in-house staff to do all the work. As more and more healthcare facility managers are discovering, the options for outsourcing go far beyond hiring someone to inspect fire extinguishers and exit lights. 

 

Stay compliant without complaints

Healthcare facility managers with limited in-house staff are used to juggling schedules to meet day-to-day needs, along with the unexpected – and often urgent – jobs that arise. However, there’s a limit to how much work can be accomplished in 24 hours, even by the most professional and dedicated team. 

Outsourcing some regulatory compliance assignments frees up staff time, simplifies scheduling, reduces overflow, and provides the peace-of-mind that comes from knowing all the necessary jobs – regulatory-related or not – are being handled professionally and efficiently. When you’re ready to consider outsourcing, look for a provider who offers a comprehensive package; the fewer partners you have to work with, the less time it takes. Think about the potential time saved and headaches spared, if you outsourced:

• Fire damper inspections and repairs
• Air change reports
• Backflow preventer inspections
• Exit light inspections
• Fire extinguisher inspections
• Fire-rated wall penetration inspections
• Fire/smoke-rated door inspections

 

Consolidate the work

Lee Company’s knowledgeable, detail-oriented professionals handle all those assignments, whether the regulatory work is required weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annually. Simply tell us what compliance tasks you’d like to outsource, and we take it from there. 

Lee Company’s package of Regulatory Compliance Services makes it easy to delegate the work your team doesn’t have time to personally handle. With decades of successful healthcare facilities experience, we’re ready to provide the specific expertise you need, whenever you need it.