Grounds and snow care for clinics and urgent care.

By John Brocklebank, Chief Executive Officer

Why clinics are different

A shopper steps around a patch of ice. A patient on crutches, with a walker or in a wheelchair can’t. Many patients arrive hurting, sick or just out of a procedure, and they judge the care inside by what they see outside.

Facilities teams that run many clinics, urgent care centers and medical offices tend to worry about the same four things outside.

• Ice at the doors. One fall at an entrance means an injured patient, and often a claim.
• Snow before opening. Lots, walks and drop-off lanes need to be clear before the first appointment and the first staff shift, not after.
• Working around patients. Mowers and blowers running by the doors and windows during appointments, and crews in the way of drop-offs.
• The first impression. Dead plants, trash and weeds at a clinic read as careless.

Write snow and ice terms for patients

A standard commercial snow contract is built for parking lots. A clinic needs four more things in writing.

• Zero tolerance at the doors. Entrances, walks, ramps and drop-off lanes are treated at any amount of snow or ice. Lots are plowed at a set depth, like one or two inches.
• Clear by a set time. Every site safe by a set time, like an hour before the first appointment or shift. Urgent care centers open on weekends and holidays, so the deadline applies on those days too.
• An order of clearing. Entrances, ramps and drop-off lanes first, along with accessible parking and the path to the door. Then patient parking. Staff parking last.
• A return visit. Snow melts during the day and freezes again by evening. Crews should come back to re-check and re-treat walks, and the contract should say how that visit is priced.

Our guides to snow contracts and ice management cover the pricing options and materials.

Landscaping around patients

• Schedule the loud work. Mow and blow before opening or after closing. When a site is open long hours, keep loud equipment away from the entrance and patient windows while patients are there.
• Keep the path clear. No equipment, trailers or clippings in drop-off lanes or on walks. Crews blow hard surfaces clean before they leave.
• Hold the standard between visits. Litter picked up, weeds out of walks and beds, and dead plants replaced, so the site looks cared for every day, not just on service day.

Records that protect you

If a patient falls, the first questions are when the site was last cleared and what was done. Ask for these records from every provider, at every site.

• Time-stamped snow visits. Check-in and check-out times, what was done and the salt used, for every snow visit. It’s what an insurer or a lawyer asks for after a fall.
• Photos on every visit. Before-and-after photos for snow and for landscaping, so you can see each site without driving to it.
• Weather on file. The weather at each site during each storm, so the record shows when the snow fell and when crews came.

Records only help if you can find them. Ask for a sample report before you sign, and make sure you can pull any visit by site and date without calling anyone.