6
| Sunday, December 27, 2020
‘ALL OUR HOUSEKEEPERS ARE ROCK STARS’ So that they keep patients and staff in a safe environment, Asante cleaning crews need to be nimble, well informed
By Tony Boom for the Mail Tribune
A
daptability and time management are pressing concerns for Molly Hoover, a housekeeper at Rogue Regional Medical Center who works to keep the facility sanitized as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. “Things can be changing every day, hour to hour. You have to be on your toes, go with the flow,” said Hoover, who works on one of three floors at the center where workers are required to don masks, face shields and gowns. Environmental
services, which tackles the cleaning, has about 125 employees who work in three shifts. They are responsible for clearing the entire RRMC building on Barnett Road, as well as the Smullin Center and Asante Imaging. “It takes a little bit more time to make sure you are gowned-up with your mask, your face shield,” said Hoover. “There’s also more time to figure out time management.” Extra attention and effort impacted all workers, as the entire unit was suddenly faced with new challenges in early March. “For a while we were working seven days a week, long hours, to get all this figured out,” said Judy Abbott, environmental services manager. “Lately, it’s kind of leveled off. When we first went into the COVID pandemic we were changing frequently, we went along with Oregon Health Authority mandates.” Some older employees, deemed to be at higher risk, took leaves of absence in the early days, but all those individuals have returned to work. “Everyone is coming to work. Everyone is showing up. They are not afraid to be here,” said Abbott. SEE ROCK STARS, PAGE 12
“You’re doing extra wipe-downs of surfaces, making sure that you have a four-hour waiting period after your first cleaning. You have to clean each room once and go back and clean again.” Molly Hoover, a housekeeper at Rogue Regional Medical Center
