When it comes to restrooms and cleanliness, consumer impressions and appeal are just as important to healthcare facilities as they are to restaurants and retail businesses. Perhaps even more so.

Numerous polls and studies indicate consumers pay close attention to restroom cleanliness when deciding whether to spend money with a business or return for additional goods or services.

According to the 10th Annual Healthy Hand Washing Survey by Bradley Corp., 64 percent of consumers will consciously choose a business because it has sanitary, well-maintained restrooms. Conversely, 55 percent of customers are unlikely to return to a business after a bad restroom experience, believing an unkempt restroom is an indication the business’ goods or services may also not be up to par.

Clean Floors Can Impact HCAHPS Scores

Maintaining sanitary flooring in a hospital is certainly a critical part of reducing healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs). Moreover, patient perceptions of cleanliness can not only affect healing outcomes but can impact a hospital through patient reports like HCAHPS.

HCAHPS, the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems, and its findings indicate that patients who are unhappy with a hospital’s cleanliness often give low scores on HCAHPS surveys. Many assume they have a greater risk of infection because of messy or unsanitary conditions and research suggests they are right.

Findings gathered from Press Ganey and Compass One Healthcare in 2014 showed a strong relationship between patient perceptions of hospital cleanliness and actual incidents of infection. They reported “hospitals that scored in the highest quintile for cleanliness had, on average, the lowest number of reported infections.”

With nearly 1.7 million patients acquiring HCAIs each year while being treated at a healthcare facility, addressing floorcare and sanitation should be a critical part of any hospital maintenance budget. Healthcare facilities stand to lose a lot more than consumer confidence when patient visits result in negative perceptions.

This is an excerpt from our full report, available here.