5 Clinical Criteria for Choosing a Medical Waste Partner

Choosing a medical waste management partner is about much more than just finding someone to deal with bins and containers. In a complex hospital environment, the right partner acts as an extension of your clinical team.

At Daniels Health, we believe that waste management should support your mission of care, not distract from it.

Are you currently evaluating your current provider or considering a new one?

Use these five clinical criteria to ensure you are choosing a standard of excellence that keeps your facility safe and compliant.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR:

1. Clinical Expertise

Does your waste partner understand the hospital floor?

A waste partner should do more than understand logistics; they need to understand the complex space of a clinical environment. Every department has unique needs, from the fast-paced Emergency Department to the high-stakes atmosphere of an OR. The size, location and type of container depends on the setting and the work being accomplished.  It is important your provider understands that what works for one unit may not work for another.

This is why we prioritize a four walls approach. Clinical expertise means mapping waste flows to optimize container placements and pickup schedules that fit the exact facility and department needs.

Here at Daniels, we conduct site assessments and ward walks to blueprint requirements for each area within a facility. By analyzing onsite logistics, waste volumes and EVS resources, we can identify safety and efficiency opportunities before a single system is installed.

When your partner understands the complexities of every facility it serves, your operations run much smoother.

2. Safety First Approach

Are containers clinically engineered or just regular plastic?

Safety in a clinical setting is not just a policy. It is a requirement for protecting everyone in a hospital.

When looking at a medical waste provider, their systems should be designed to reduce the risk of sharps injuries and infections. This protection should start at the point of disposal and continue until the waste is processed.

Our Daniels solutions improve safety for every type of waste stream. Our containers are clinically engineered with 13 safety features, including permanent safety locks and leakproof seals. They are designed for hands-free, touchless disposal to prevent cross-contamination.

(Shameless plug: In peer-reviewed studies, our Sharpsmart container significantly reduced injuries for healthcare workers)

When your waste management is safe, it creates a better environment for your staff and patients.

3. Commitment to Sustainability

Is your waste partner helping you reach “Net Zero” goals?

Moving away from disposables is great for sustainability. Even if your facility already uses reusables, the real difference is how a partner manages the data and logistics behind a bin or container.

A few ways Daniels take sustainability a step further:

Sustainability is an unwavering value at Daniels. We know how important it is to protect our planet, that’s why we implement practices that minimize environmental impact.

4. Reliable Service

Can you ensure your partner shows up when it counts?

In a hospital, “almost on time” is not good enough. In our personal lives, we never settle for less, why should you in your facility?

When evaluating a waste management provider, checking their Delivery in Full on Time (DIFOT) score shows if they prioritize customer excellence. DIFOT tracks whether a provider collects every waste promised exactly when they scheduled it.  Facilities should evaluate every potential partner’s score to ensure they are choosing a reliable provider that never leaves them hanging.

Daniels Health prioritizes DIFOT and maintains a 98.75% score across the United States. To put this in perspective, this score represents a near-perfect reliability rate that far exceeds the industry standard, where logistics delays can be a pain point. We maintain a high DIFOT score by keeping our services in-house whenever possible.

Additionally, you need to know what safeguards are in place to ensure issues are resolved
before waste piles up at your back dock. If it does, it can lead to safety hazards and compliance issues. A highs standard of customer service ensures a clear chain of custody and a dedicated team. Our no-silo approach means our operations and account managers work through challenges, and all issues are escalated to senior leadership if needed.

Mistakes happen, but a provider that strives for perfection and guarantees reliability is beyond important.

5. Strong Partnership

Does your provider support your team through education and compliance?

The best providers offer a collaborative partnership rather than just a transaction. A true partner is invested in your long-term success, helping you drive cultural change, achieve greater safety awareness and have reliable costumer support.

This includes providing education, conducting waste audits to identify cost-saving opportunities and ensuring you stay compliant with ever-changing regulations.

Daniels Health has an ongoing commitment to educate healthcare staff through a multi-faceted approach. This includes:

This multi-faceted approach helps create cultural change within your facility with minimal changes to standard workflows.

Account management is not something to be taken lightly. Unfortunately, many providers promise a dedicated account manager, but clients often find themselves leaving endless voicemails in a toll-free black hole.

Our Account Managers focus on building a strong partnership by being onsite regularly. During these visits, they meet with clinical teams or conduct business reviews to ensure your program goals are consistently met. With multiple waste streams involving various compliance risks and disposal costs, it is vital to find a partner that is fully committed to providing dedicated support to your facility.

At the end of the day, you should feel a sense of trust and consistency from your partner. You should never feel alone.

The Daniels Difference

Yes, we really do check off all five.

Daniels Health is passionate about redefining clinical and service excellence. With 40 years of experience, these five principles are the foundation of what we call the Daniels Difference.

We don’t just provide waste management systems, we provide a relationship that drives improvements in waste reduction, safety, sustainability and compliance.

We empower healthcare facilities to focus on what matters most: patient care. While you focus on the lives inside your four walls, we’ll focus on what we do best: reliable and safe waste management.