Keeping our patients and employees healthy and safe is the top priority across SolutionHealth. Our Environmental Service professionals have been on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic since day one.
At both Elliot Health System and Southern New Hampshire Health, our EVS teams are following the same guidelines as our medical providers. They are wearing appropriate PPE, washing hands frequently, and following social distancing rules.
Both EVS departments use a checklist to make sure each surface has been properly disinfected. At the Elliot, the teams use Optimum-UV Enlight System to clean patients’ rooms, procedure rooms, and offices. The technology is used after manual surface disinfection for an added level of clean to keep both patients and staff safe from infection.
High-traffic areas are also being cleaned multiple times a day. Things like elevator buttons and door handles are disinfected often.
“Elliot Hospital has a very dedicated and knowledgeable EVS team. The department’s paramount mission is to provide a cleaner hospital for a healthier individual,” Jeffrey Demers, Director of Environmental, Food, and Nutritional Services at the Elliot, explains.
Miguel Gonzalez, Manager of Environmental Services at Southern New Hampshire Health concurs, saying, “The staff goes above and beyond daily to keep everyone safe. Right now, during the COVID-19 crisis, it’s just repeated, multiple times a day.”
While demand is up, both department leads agree, they are adapting and making sure our hospitals are safe.
“The EVS department is not any different than all the other departments we can be highlighting and celebrating. Demand is extremely high, in assuring that all areas of this facility are well disinfected and clean for our patients and staff,” Demers says.
“We are a team, if one person falls behind, there is always someone else ready to help out,” Gonzalez explains.
