World FM Day

How the Right Facilities Management Team Impacts a Hospital’s Success

Sodexo • by Justin Marcoux, Senior Director of Solutions Development, Healthcare Facility Solutions North America

On World FM Day, we’re taking the time to pause and understand the impact that our facilities management teams have on healthcare systems’ ability to Power Human Care.   

Consider for a moment the frigid weather of a February night in Indiana. This past winter, during one of the coldest days on record, a massive weather front hit Merrilville. The power supply from Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO) was out for six hours while the temperature hovered far below freezing – life threatening conditions for frail patients. 

Thankfully, at Methodist Hospitals Southlake campus all generators started as scheduled. However, not all equipment is on generator power. Several Facility Management team members responded immediately to reset boilers and rounded on all heating systems. FM team members worked well into the night to repair several air handlers that provide heat to patients and to minimize further damage to infrastructure, resulting in minimal downtime on heating systems. 

Each FM team member logged in approximately 80 hours of work that week. Through their dedication and unwavering Team Spirit, they identified several opportunities to put additional equipment on emergency power and worked with the administration at Methodist Southlake Hospitals to develop solutions to preempt any future disruption to power. 

Their dedication was unflagging even in the midst of a global pandemic when their work to protect and maintain the hospital facilities was already kicked into higher gear than ever before.  

Success stories like this happen when uncontrollable variables like freak weather – or global pandemics – are confronted by the preparation and strategic response of excellent FM teams. These are heroes keeping hospitals safe and functional; and today – as on every day – we thank them for their service.