Marita Nash: Spirit of Collaboration

Marita Nash
Director of Environmental Services and Linen
Hunterdon Medical Center
Flemington, New Jersey

In 2004, a new, mutated strain of C.diff started to infect patients at Hunterdon Medical Center. Working closely with the Infection Prevention department, Marita Nash, director of environmental services and linen, immediately focused on revising cleaning protocols and evaluating the best products and technology to eradicate the resistant bacteria — all without breaking a sweat.

“Marita’s demeanor is very calm, and she doesn’t overreact,” says Lisa Rasimowicz, director of infection prevention. “She’s always there to listen, to offer guidance, and to help make sure we’re doing the right thing.”

For Nash, “doing the right thing” extends well beyond implementing the right cleaning products and procedures. She is a strong advocate for education, ensuring that everyone in the organization — not just the environmental services staff — is aware of their responsibility in keeping the environment clean to prevent the spread of infection.

“We want our staff to know how important their role is in being thorough and detail-oriented,” says Nash. “We try to help them understand that we want them to prepare the room as if their mom or relative was coming in. We’re not just telling them what to do, but helping them to understand why it needs to be done.”

Thanks to the introduction of new products and protocols, as well as Nash’s message that everyone plays a role in keeping the environment clean, the number of C.diff cases following the outbreak plummeted, decreasing by 76 percent in the first year and continuing to decrease by another 70 percent over the next five years.

Even in the absence of infection outbreaks, Nash is on top of the latest technologies and works closely with Infection Prevention to evaluate new products.

“Marita is very proactive,” says Rasimowicz. “She does a thorough job of researching every product to make sure it’s the best product, and then she does a great job of explaining why we need it in the facility to keep our patients safe and the environment clean.”

Marita has implemented accelerated hydrogen peroxide products, a computerized surveillance system and washable keyboards. Then just last year she introduced steam cleaning for use in C.diff rooms.

In 2009, the department started using ATP meters to test high-touch surfaces after rooms have been cleaned. Employees are present during the ATP testing process and receive immediate results.

“The greatest benefit of the ATP testing is the positive feedback it gives my staff,” says Nash. “Some facilities use this process in a punitive way. We do not. We use it in an educative manner, to reinforce the validity and importance of their role.”

ATP testing has been so successful that two years ago the EVS department was able to lower the national benchmark pass value from 500 relative light units (RLU) to 200 RLU.

In addition to promoting her message that everyone at Hunterdon Medical Center is responsible for keeping the environment clean, Nash continues to spread the word at industry functions. In 2012, she presented at the annual APIC conference to build the business case for infection prevention in environmental services resources. And in 2013, she participated in the Voluntary Hospital Association’s education series focusing on the collaboration between the EVS and Infection Prevention departments.

“The collaboration between the two departments is what makes us so successful,” says Nash. “We don’t hesitate to pick up the phone and talk to each other, and we value each other’s input.”

Rasimowicz agrees: “Infection control and EVS have always had a great partnership,” she says. “Marita is well respected by everybody — not just by the frontline EVS workers, but all the way up through all the departments. She’s an incredible leader, and she makes people want to do a good job because they understand it’s the right thing to do.”

To nominate a deserving manager for the 2016 award, click here.

The nomination submitted by Lisa Rasimowicz at Hunterdon Medical Center:
Marita Nash, MBA, CHESP Director of Environmental Services and Linen at Hunterdon Medical Center, Flemington NJ is an excellent candidate for the Managers of Distinction Award.

Marita can always be found walking the halls, talking with staff, or evaluating new technologies to improve environmental cleaning. Her voice is comforting and calm, but her message is strong - “Imagine it was your family member in the patient bed.”  Marita’s message reminds us that everyone needs to do the right thing to keep the environment for our patients as safe as possible.

Hunterdon Medical Center (HMC) is a community teaching hospital that is lucky to have such a strong leader within our Environmental Services department. With Marita’s passion for maintaining the cleanest environment, HMC has been able to achieve significant decreases in infection rates and has been able to reach our goal of zero infections through clean hands, clean equipment and a clean environment.  HMC recognizes the role that the environment plays in preventing infections because Marita has taught all of us that concept.  She understands that collaboration with everyone, from the administrative team to the frontline healthcare workers is critical to provide the safest patient care. 

One such collaboration involves the relationship between the Infection Prevention and Environmental Services departments. This relationship was developed and strengthened back in 2004 when a new, mutated strain of Clostridium difficile started to infect patients seeking care at HMC. Recognizing the role of the environment in preventing infections, Marita worked very closely with the Infection Prevention department to evaluate the available products, make changes to the cleaning procedures used in the facility, and develop new policies for patients isolated with Clostridium difficile.  Process changes incorporated by Marita included conducting cleaning rounds and implementing an objective auditing process. However, one of the biggest changes was to instill a sense of “cleaning responsibility” in every Hunterdon employee. 

Marita’s hard work and dedication helped to rapidly reduce the cases of Clostridium difficile back to normal range. These program improvements have led to continued success with sustaining decreases in healthcare acquired infections.  Marita’s dedication to providing the safest patient care has led to Hunterdon Medical Center implementing many other best practices throughout the years including accelerated hydrogen peroxide cleaning products, computerized surveillance system, rapid testing equipment for the lab, washable computer keyboards, hiring additional staff, use of ATP testing to audit cleanliness, UV technology, and steam cleaning. 

Keeping a clean environment is hard work and Marita takes the extra time to consistently recognize staff that does a great job.  Marita created a “Shining Star” award for EVS to show our appreciation for a job well done.  In other situations during times when a process can be improved, Marita is able to coach staff, making sure they understand what the correct process is and how their role directly impacts patient safety.

In addition to wanting the very best for our patients here at Hunterdon, Marita also wants to improve healthcare overall and has taken an active role as a leader in environmental services working together with infection prevention for better patient outcomes. In 2011, Marita was invited as a leading expert to become involved in the Association for the Healthcare Environment and APIC Clean Spaces, Healthy Patients collaborative. This collaboration focuses on the role of integrating best practices to keep the environment a safe place for patients. 

In 2012, Marita was invited to present at the National APIC Annual Conference to discuss the topic of “Building the Business Case for Infection Prevention/Environmental Services Resources: Three Facilities Achieve Success.” This webinar included a discussion about Marita’s approach to obtain the resources she needed to build a robust infection prevention program at Hunterdon and how her approach was successfully viewed by the C-suite. 

In 2013, VHA’s Partnership for Patients Education Series featured HMC’s story and concentrated on how Marita’s efforts created a sustainable case for yearly investments even though many hospitals have had to cut budgets. The continued decrease in healthcare acquired infections has consistently demonstrated the return on investments.

Marita is a strong advocate for her staff and an inspirational leader that consistently promotes patient safety as top priority. As a direct result of Marita’s leadership, best practice is engrained in our EVS staff because they understand their role in keeping the patient safe. Thank you in advance for considering Marita Nash for the Managers of Distinction Award.