Unsung Heroes in Our Midst

If people are hospitalized or visiting someone who is, they expect patient rooms, waiting areas and restrooms to be clean without putting much thought into who’s responsible for making that happen.

But in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, UNC REX Environmental Services Director Orlando Reyes thinks about little else these days. He supervises 150 people who work tirelessly to ensure UNC REX patients and families can take comfort in knowing the rooms are safe, sanitized and secure.

“We provide at least two touches to each room per day,” Reyes said. “We visit in the morning and introduce ourselves to tell them we’ll be emptying their trash, stocking their supplies and coming in later to clean their room. It’s sort of like the nurse coming in and announcing herself or himself for the day.”

Environmental Services (EVS) employees do much more than clean patient rooms. “We’re not there to draw blood or give them medication or to do any of the clinical stuff,” Reyes said. “We’re there to clean and sanitize the room and also to have an interaction with them to establish a relationship where they can feel comfortable. In some cases, if they don’t have family, we might spend additional time with them so they can feel that somebody is there for them.”

Interacting with patients didn’t just start with the COVID-19 pandemic but has long been a part of Environmental Services’ protocol.

Members of the Environmental Services team: Daya Watelski, Orlando Reyes (Director) and Daniel McIlvaine

“When we hire our EVS technicians, what we look for during the interview process are customer service skills,” Reyes said. “We can show them the technical part any day … but the customer service piece, you’re either born with it or you’re not. We look for that because it’s very important for us to provide that patient care to every patient that comes to REX.”

Technician Daya Watelski’s demeanor matches the standard Reyes wants his employees to exemplify.

“I come in with a positive attitude and just do what I have to do,” Watelski said. “My patients love me and I love them back. You have to make them feel at home. I may be a stranger and yes, I’m a housekeeper, but we’re all family here.”

Watelski loves her job but nowadays is taking extra precautions. For example, if a patient isn’t wearing a mask, she gently asks whether he or she would be more comfortable with one.

“When I first enter the room, I write my name on the door, tell them I’m going to be working from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., ask whether everything is okay with the room and tell them I’m going to sanitize their phone, bed, rail, table, etc.”

When cleaning the room of a patient who’s waiting on COVID-19 test results, Watelski wears a helmet with a face shield and doubles up on her gloves. “I cover my hair because I don’t want to have to go home every day and wash it,” she said.

Watelski says she doesn’t feel nervous when entering a patient’s room because she could contract the virus from a grocery store or another establishment. “I actually feel safe working in the hospital because we have all of the personal protection equipment we need.”

Daniel McIlvaine has worked at UNC REX for two years and likes seeing patients marvel at a floor or hallway after he’s cleaned it. He noted that contract workers from other hospitals have complimented EVS staff by saying they “never see floors as clean and shiny as the ones here at REX.”

McIlvaine said EVS co-workers have always worked diligently to ensure the hospital is clean, but “right now it’s more important than ever that we do our job and do it correctly. Honestly, if we don’t do what we need to do, how can anybody else at the hospital really do their job?”

He admits being a little nervous about working in a hospital during a pandemic but says he’s confident UNC REX officials are doing everything they can to ensure patient and employee safety.

“Since the beginning of everything with the pandemic, our leadership has always had our backs and kept us informed of everything that’s going on,” McIlvaine said. “Especially when it comes to the chemicals we use to clean the rooms, the UV lights we use to sterilize the rooms and just PPE in general. They make sure we have it in stock on a daily basis, and I really feel safer here than I do outside in the world.”

Reyes and his management team make rounds like doctors, asking patients whether their rooms are cleaned appropriately and if housekeepers are coming by at least twice a day. The pandemic has significantly increased the number of hours he and his managers are putting in, but Reyes isn’t complaining.

“The staff is pretty much working their normal eight-hour shifts, although some of them have taken on extra shifts or hours if needed,” Reyes said. “The important thing for us as managers is to support our team members and make them feel safe.”

Reyes is proud that only six of his employees, or less than 5%, have quit over concerns about contracting the coronavirus. He’s also glad their hard work hasn’t gone unnoticed.

“Different restaurants have provided free meals to us on occasion,” he said. “REX management has come around and thanked my staff, and we’ve received multiple emails from different units and staff thanking us. Our front-line co-workers are the ones who are making things happen, and we have to take care of them so they can take care of our patients. That’s why what we’re doing in Environmental Services is more critical now than ever.”

If you have not visited the Rex Healthcare Foundation website in a while, click on over to

rexhealthcarefoundation.com

to check out the brand new look!

Streamlined information and donor stories, plus easy donation giving in just a few clicks.

We hope you will take a look and visit often!