Nearly a year ago, hospital staffs were among the first to learn of COVID-19.
While doctors and nurses care for sick patients, the EVS staff battles the virus on the frontlines, scrubbing every nook and cranny of SMC right down to the wheels on medical beds.
“When the COVID scare began, my staff and I knew it was up to us to keep the hospital as germ free as possible,” said Matt Williams, Manager, Environmental Services. “Since day one, our staff has gone above and beyond to ensure the hospital is cleaned and sterilized constantly.
“On a daily basis, we sanitize patient rooms, nurse’s stations, offices, chairs and equipment, plus answer calls from all departments for spills and other requests.”
Since the start of the pandemic, cleaning has become more intense, more time consuming, and more cautionary.
Evelyn Gregorio, who has been at SMC for 14 years, said patient rooms are cleaned from floor to ceiling with Oxivir Disinfectant — a hospital-grade cleaning solution as strong as pure alcohol.
“We strip the entire room,” she said. “We touch everything. We actually mop the walls down with Oxivir.”
And when entering a patient room, EVS staff wear full PPE like a doctor or nurse.
“We wear full jumpsuits, N95 masks, protective eye gear, face shields, booties and two pairs of gloves,” she said. “We’re definitely on the front lines.”
Williams said by sanitizing everything from floor to ceiling, the staff helps reduce the chance of the virus spreading.
“I’m very proud of our team,” Williams said. “They have an enormous challenge and don’t often get much credit. If you clean hospitals for a living, nothing is different during the pandemic. Yet, everything feels and is different including the stress, the uncertainty, and the new world this has brought upon us.”
Environmental Services Team: Manager Matt Williams, James Perrone, Shirley Hickman, Shelby Mick, Evelyn Gregorio, Raleigh Edwards, Theresea Hasselman, Tina Reed, Liz Maurer, Karl Teal, Mike Rivera, Natasha Collins, Stephine Garrison, Carl Lewis, Yvetci Castro, Frank Page, Nancy Fuller, Bobbi Davis, and Tina Laspada.