“It’s been difficult, but part of it is realizing we’re all in this together,” Davis said. “Why we are doing this is to make sure nobody catches this stuff.”
The people who conduct COVID-19 screenings and work directly with patients and residents of Washington mental health facilities are the very visible frontline workers during this crisis.
But an integral part of keeping each site clean and safe is just as important, if less obvious. The housekeeping staffs have toiled away to clean hospital wards and bathrooms and sanitize every high-touch area in sight.
At Eastern State Hospital that has also meant cleaning items and areas normally beyond the purview of the housekeeping staff, such as handheld radios, phones and individual computers.
“It takes a whole team to ensure that everyone is safe and sanitized, and everyone has stepped up to do their part and go above and beyond,” said Nanette Walling, the hospital’s environmental services supervisor. “We’ve cleaned things that were never technically our job.”
Many custodians have taken on extra shifts, and six temporary and three on-call workers were hired to supplement the regular staff of 38 people. The temporary workers are mainly assigned to cleaning the three single-use and two group restrooms on each of the six wards, said Director of Facilities Dean Davis.
Custodial work can be a thankless job, but it is of life-saving consequence now. That has meant the housekeepers have seen their workload increase from cleaning areas twice per shift to five times in each eight-hour period.
“It’s been difficult, but part of it is realizing we’re all in this together,” Davis said. “Why we are doing this is to make sure nobody catches this stuff.”
A standout among the team has been Jeff Collins, the evening shift lead who worked extra shifts and weekends during the first weeks of COVID-19 outbreak.
“He always had a smile and a positive word to say and never complained,” Walling said. “He also was pretty clever. The commissary sent us some cases of Purell wipes that we never have carried, nor did we a have a dispenser for them, but he used a bucket and a top from our Clorox wipes so we could utilize the wipes — especially since there has been a shortage on hand sanitizer.”
Seeing the efforts of Collins and the rest of the housekeeping staff work so diligently to protect the staff and 300-plus patients at Eastern has resonated with Davis.
“Collins absolutely stepped up to the plate to become a leader, and I will remember that,” Davis said. “This group has really and truly and honestly never been recognized for the work they do on a daily basis, but I’m going to do more to recognize the staff going forward.”
(Story by Rob Johnson)