Cleaning quality should also be measured through objective audits and performance metrics, not just task completion. | Photo Credit (all): Courtesy of ABM
By Lindsey Coulter
Healthcare organizations are facing a compliance environment that is becoming more complex at the same time that many are managing tighter budgets, staffing challenges and increasingly distributed care models. As healthcare continues to expand beyond the traditional hospital setting into ambulatory surgery centers, medical office buildings, specialty clinics and other non-acute environments, maintaining consistent standards across facilities can become more difficult.
For Chris Giannotta, Director of Sales for Enterprise and Healthcare Solutions at ABM, effective compliance requires organizations to look beyond individual tasks or preparation for an annual inspection. With more than 17 years of sales and operational experience in janitorial and environmental services, Giannotta works with healthcare organizations nationwide to develop facility services strategies that address patient experience, operational efficiency and regulatory requirements across the continuum of care.
Giannotta will explore these issues during the upcoming webinar “Beyond the Hospital: Facility Compliance Challenges in Non-Acute Healthcare.” The free webinar will examine how healthcare leaders can strengthen compliance and facility performance across non-acute settings, with a focus on patient safety, technology and data, cross-functional collaboration and strategic partnerships. Giannotta will join fellow ABM experts Brian Maiden, Engineering Manager, and Michael Ream, Director of Sales for Enterprise and Healthcare Solutions, for the Sept. 1 session.
Ahead of the event, Giannotta spoke with HCO News about expanding compliance challenges, addressing non-acute needs, elevating environmental services and more.
HCO: You’ve worked with healthcare organizations across the continuum of care. What compliance concerns are leaders bringing to you most often today?
Giannotta: Leaders are often navigating increasing regulatory complexity with smaller budgets and less staffing. Maintaining compliance and audit readiness can be difficult as healthcare expands into more settings beyond the hospital, such as ambulatory surgery centers, medical office buildings, specialty clinics and more.
They need to create consistency not only across multiple facilities, but also across different care settings and geographic areas. At the same time, organizations want to leverage technology and data to increase visibility into compliance risks and make better decisions.
HCO: Compliance isn’t just about avoiding fines anymore. How does a strong compliance program contribute to an organization’s financial performance and reputation?
Giannotta: Strong compliance protects revenue by reducing audit deficiencies, operational disruptions and costly corrective actions. Preventative and proactive facility management can also help reduce equipment failures and unexpected capital expenses.
Creating a clean, safe and well-maintained environment supports patient trust and improves an organization’s reputation. That can contribute to patient satisfaction, physician and staff morale and retention, and community perception, ultimately supporting organizational performance.
Leading healthcare organizations don’t see compliance as a cost; they see it as vital to protecting their people, their reputation and their long-term performance.
HCO: Many non-acute providers are balancing limited resources with growing regulatory expectations. Where do organizations struggle most?
Giannotta: Like many businesses, healthcare organizations are under constant pressure to reduce costs while maintaining high standards. Recruiting and retaining experienced staff is a challenge, not only for patient-facing providers, but also for support services.
Organizations also have to keep pace with evolving regulations. Some may choose to outsource support functions such as facility services. This can be an effective strategy, but in a highly regulated environment like healthcare, balancing cost savings with industry knowledge and compliance expertise is vital.
Managing costs is important, but in healthcare, value goes beyond just the dollar amount. The right people and partners can identify regulatory issues before they occur, saving time, money and risk over the long run.
HCO: Environmental services often has a direct impact on patient satisfaction and infection prevention. How can healthcare organizations better align environmental services programs with broader compliance initiatives?
Giannotta: Environmental services is a strategic contributor to patient and staff safety, not just a housekeeping or janitorial function. Leaders should participate in multidisciplinary compliance discussions and ensure environmental services is included in broader facility and clinical conversations.
Standardized training and competency assessments are important to ensure consistency across teams. Cleaning quality should also be measured through objective audits and performance metrics, not just task completion. Regular inspections using detailed checklists, patient satisfaction scores and other testing can help reinforce standards.
Strong collaboration between environmental services, infection prevention, facilities and clinical operations can create better outcomes.
HCO: What characteristics do you see in healthcare organizations that consistently maintain high compliance performance?
Giannotta: Leadership visibly prioritizes compliance throughout the year. Compliance is integrated into daily operations and ongoing training, rather than being treated as something that only happens during an annual review or in preparation for an audit.
Staff understand why compliance matters and how they contribute to it. Organizations also use data to monitor trends and continuously improve.
External partners are integrated into the compliance process and held to the same expectations. That alignment is important when organizations are relying on outside expertise to support highly regulated environments.
HCO: When selecting external partners, what should healthcare organizations look for to ensure those partners strengthen — not complicate — their compliance efforts?
Giannotta: Healthcare experience matters. Organizations should look for partners who understand the unique regulatory expectations of healthcare environments, rather than relying on generic cleaning practices.
Partners should demonstrate knowledge of compliance standards, including CDC guidance, The Joint Commission’s Environment of Care standards and OSHA’s bloodborne pathogens standard, as well as infection prevention, life safety, documentation requirements and other key regulatory requirements.
Transparency, strong communication and collaboration built around shared accountability for patient safety and operational excellence are also important. Technology capabilities can improve visibility into inspections, work orders, corrective actions and more.
A partner should be able to proactively identify risks and recommend and perform improvements. A good vendor will focus on completing the task; a great vendor is focused on the outcomes. They’re not just checking off tasks; they’re strengthening your organization’s performance.
HCO: What topics do you think healthcare leaders should pay close attention to during this webinar?
Giannotta: The connection between compliance and patient safety is an important one. Healthcare leaders should also be thinking about how to build a culture of continuous readiness instead of simply preparing for an audit.
The growing role of technology and data in identifying compliance risks early is another important topic. Strategic partnerships can help organizations strengthen compliance while supporting limited internal resources, and cross-functional collaboration can improve compliance outcomes.
Webinar: Beyond the Hospital: Facility Compliance Challenges in Non-Acute Healthcare
- Date: Sept. 1, 2026
- Time: 11 a.m. PT
- Speakers: Brian Maiden, Chris Giannotta and Michael Ream, ABM
- Cost: Free
- Register for the webinar