Big changes to food and environmental services at MUSC Health statewide

Nephrologist Karim Soliman, M.D., usually works with nurses and techs as they help people suffering from serious kidney problems. But on a recent day in the main cafeteria at the MUSC Health University Hospital, it was Charleen Watson, supervisor of dietetic services, who came to his aid.

Soliman was using a new self-service checkout device for the first time to buy a mid-morning sandwich. Watson knew he might need her help. “A lot of people are getting used to the new machines and everything. It’s a work in progress,” she said.

Once Soliman had the hang of it, he liked it. “Convenient,” he said.

The self-service kiosks are among the more visible symbols of a big change affecting food and nutrition and environmental services across all of MUSC Health’s facilities. Food and nutrition includes not only what’s sold in those facilities but also patients’ meals and other aspects of healthy dining. Environmental services refers to professionally trained employees who clean and disinfect medical equipment, patient rooms and common areas.

Compass One Healthcare has become the provider of these services, replacing Sodexo at MUSC Health in Charleston and other vendors at other MUSC Health sites across the state. 

Adam Bacik, associate chief operating officer for the Medical University of South Carolina, said it was a chance to leverage MUSC’s growth. “Because of the scale of our operation, we were able to save some costs while still enhancing services for our patients and care team members. There's a lot of synergies by having all of the employees under one umbrella now so that we can resource our facilities differently.”

Another draw: Compass’ approach. “All the vendors we considered brought really fun and shiny toys and great food, and it looked great. But Compass really stood out as not selling us a service but wanting to partner with us on a service. Others just wanted to say, ‘You get what you pay for,’” Bacik said.

“Really, this is not about just having services today, but what does the service look like a year from now – or three years from now? And how do we continuously improve through that process?”

Bacik said a specially selected team had the final say on whether to go with Compass. “It included COOs from all divisions, Dr. Susan Johnson from our Office of Health Promotion; it had our infection prevention team, to name a few. So this was truly a group effort making the decision on behalf of the entire health system.”

That group didn’t just focus on the services. It wanted to protect the employees who provide them. “A hundred percent of our contracted employees were offered employment with Compass One. A vast majority of them accepted that opportunity and still continue to serve MUSC. No positions were eliminated as a part of this in any of our markets,” Bacik said.

So that’s how the change came about. Here’s what else to expect.

Food and nutrition services

As Soliman found when he bought his sandwich from a kiosk instead of a cashier, things are already starting to look different when it comes to food and nutrition services. 

“You'll start to see changes in the food service and retail options. Some of the facelift has already begun in the cafeteria area. There are new branded concepts highlighting certain food themes and diverse menu offerings,” Bacik said.

Case in point: In the MUSC Health University Hospital cafeteria, there’s a new calendar hanging on the wall by one entrance that shows different categories of food that will be featured throughout the month, ranging from okra to mac and cheese to fried chicken.

 

Bacik said Compass’ Morrison division, which handles its food and nutrition services, is also discussing bringing in more Lowcountry flavor. “They want to start partnering with local food providers and bring them into our kitchens and start having a rotating concept.”

More importantly, they want to ensure that employees on all shifts have access to good healthy food. “One thing that they'll start to see is more self-serve food options. It’s a food market area where people will be able to grab and go, not only for people who work during the day, but also for our employees who are working nights and weekends. So that's a new enhancement. That's been a big thing lacking for our institution for some time.” 

Employees will experience a temporary change involving one payment option for food and drinks, Bacik said. “Compass still offers a payroll deduction for food. But because of the OurDay install, which is happening in October, we were unable to get this part of the scope included in the initial changes.” OurDay is a new cloud-based platform designed to improve and integrate MUSC’s operational systems.

“So we're having to temporarily pause the payroll deduction until the OurDay implementation finishes, and then we'll go back to it. But in the interim, what they're offering is what we call declining fund balance. An employee can prepay a defined amount from their debit card or credit card onto their badge and do the same thing. So badge swiping still exists. But as opposed to being funded by your paycheck, you preload it from a debit card or a credit card.”

Patients will see changes in their food and nutrition options, too. “They can order on tablets and iPads. So we’re moving more to electronic ordering, and that's integrated with EPIC, our electronic medical records system. So we get the nutrition orders from our doctors linked to the food orders patients make.”

Environmental services

Compass’ Crothall division, which leads its environmental services work, bills itself as an industry leader in innovation and reducing hospital-acquired infections.

Environmental services workers are often seen as the unsung heroes of hospitals. They not only follow rigorous standards in cleaning, they’re also responsible for doing everything possible to reduce the risk of infections spreading in hospitals, Bacik said. 

“We see it as a partnership, trying to make sure that we have clean facilities. Infection prevention is very important. A lot of detail goes into cleaning our spaces and keeping them clean. So a lot of, from a regulatory perspective, a lot of different items needed to be ironed out in this transition. So a lot of work there that kind of goes unnoticed. But I think that's probably good to some degree.”

If it’s unnoticed, it means the work is going smoothly, Bacik said. But what is often noticed, however, is the way environmental services specialists interact with patients. Those contacts are an important part of ensuring that people feel comfortable and in good hands in the hospital. Learning how to interact with patients is part of Compass’ environmental services training.

Compass began managing all food and nutrition and environmental services on Aug. 1. Watson, the dietetic services supervisor who’s been helping people navigate the self-service kiosks in the cafeteria, said it’s off to a good start in her area. 

“I love it. It makes our lines go by faster – we don’t have the long lines like we used to. It’s convenient, especially for the people who only have 30 minute breaks. They don’t have to stand in a cash line anymore. They can use the kiosk.”