Huggins Hospital Finds Solution to Improving Facilities Management

WOLFEBORO, N.H. — Since its inception in 1907, Huggins Hospital in Wolfeboro has been upgraded and expanded several times, but it wasn’t until improving its infrastructure and regulatory and compliance standards that the hospital began to make operations more efficient and cost-effective.

The hospital knew it needed to modernize to ensure its ability to leverage the latest industry technology, operate more efficiently and cost effectively, and continue to provide the highest quality care for patients. Instead of just improving the existing facility, Huggins decided to build a brand-new hospital that opened its doors at the end of 2010.

The new hospital featured state-of-the-art technology combined with a calming, healing atmosphere that was more than able to meet the community’s rapidly changing health care needs. Although it was a modern facility, the hospital was still self-managing its management services and operations like it had always done in the past. The hospital needed the technical expertise to handle the new technologies efficiently and with a comprehensive preventative, predictive and operational approach to the upkeep of the new infrastructure.

Although the hospital had spent $55 million on the new facility, there was already infrastructure degradation. To remedy this, Huggins brought in new leadership who set an aggressive course for operational and fiscal excellence. With its new course of action, the hospital could no longer self-manage its facilities operations. Hospital officials chose to work with a third-party company that could offer leadership and continuity, establish command and control for all facilities and support services, and provide technical expertise and deep facilities management experience.

Huggins partnered with New York-headquartered ABM Healthcare Support Services to organize and manage hospital facilities operations and maintenance. To improve the facility, get the maintenance program back on track and ensure a smooth transition with minimal disruption to hospital operations, one of the first steps for ABM was to meet with the existing staff and establish a work environment of open communication and support. Next, they implemented best practice policies and procedures; introduced a monthly training program for employees; as well as ensured all oversight and regulatory compliance issues were assessed, identified, resolved and documented.

To more efficiently manage assets and contractors, schedule and track maintenance tasks and work orders, and keep record of the work performed and regulatory compliance, ABM implemented a fully automated computerized maintenance management system (CMMS). The system is web-based, allowing technicians to work from their smart devices, dramatically streamlining the entire work order process and allowing them to complete more work orders faster and be more proactive and productive in addressing all facility needs. Through a single, efficient point of contact, ABM oversees facilities management, landscape, environmental services, food services and security for Huggins. Most recently, leadership requested ABM provide oversight and management of the Materials/Purchasing department as well.

Through the right people, planning and processes, ABM has helped improve the hospital’s infrastructure and regulatory and compliance standards, making operations much more efficient and cost-effective. ABM has been able to achieve a host of accomplishments for Huggins since managing its facilities and operations including:

• Moved compliance to 95 percent within five months by quickly identifying, resolving and documenting all oversight and regulatory issues
• Established a clear, concise direction for operational management and a continuity of operations, which reduced vendor outsourced costs by 15 percent and reduced spending
• Quickly assessed and resolved preventative, predictive and operational maintenance issues
• Provided owner’s representative construction management services for all hospital construction projects
• Sped up average work order completion rates to 2.5 days or less and increased completion rates for all work orders to over 90 percent
• Enhanced employee education, training and growth opportunities

Rob Scheffer is the senior vice president of operations, facilities management for ABM Healthcare Support Services.