Iredell Health System Honors 'Overlooked' Frontline Employees

MOORESVILLE, NC — As frontline workers continue to be honored during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the Iredell Health System is recognizing healthcare workers who are often forgotten, but who provide invaluable services in area hospitals each day.

This week, officials from Iredell Memorial Hospital and Iredell Mooresville are honoring a team of 44 full-time and part-time environmental service professionals who are dedicated to keeping the healthcare facilities clean and sanitized.

The recognition comes during National Healthcare Environmental Services and Housekeeping Week. The team of often overlooked frontline workers will be honored by the Iredell Health System with gifts, meals and other acts of appreciation, the healthcare system announced on Monday.

The workers serve as the first line of defense against the spread of serious infections that may linger on surfaces in patient rooms, public areas of the hospital and in restrooms and other locations around medical facilities, officials said in a news release.

“The environmental services team is the last touch between a patient leaving and the next patient coming in. We want to make sure that we’re preventing the spread of any infection that the new patient did not have,” Chris Coble, director of environmental services at Iredell Health System said the release.

The team is made up of housekeepers, floor technicians, waste management technicians and linen aids – all of whom play a valuable role in the upkeep of the health system’s medical facilities, officials said.

While the Iredell Health System has always made cleanliness a top priority at its hospitals, the coronavirus pandemic has required attention to sanitization of facilities to be increased, according to the release.

Before the pandemic, Coble’s team averaged cleaning around 30 to 40 rooms per day once a patient had been discharged. Now, with such a high patient census, the team has about 50 patient discharge rooms to clean each day.

The pandemic has forced environmental service team members to wear extra levels of protection, including a gown, gloves, N95 mask and face shield. In addition to wearing protective gear, these workers must spend extra time cleaning rooms, especially those where COVID-19 patients have been treated.

The growing COVID patient volume also heavily affects the waste management technicians as more waste is accumulated from all the personal protective equipment used each time someone enters an infected room, the release said. In addition, these workers are responsible for collecting all of the regular waste, bio-hazardous waste, and recyclables out of the building.

“Without nurses, we would be in bad shape,” Coble said. “But without our team, especially the staff pulling the waste out of the building, the hospital would shut down.”

Housekeeping staff members have also been asked to take on a bigger role as the pandemic continues as well. In every case, these employees introduce themselves to patients when they enter the room and explain what they will be doing to ensure that the rooms are fully sanitized and clean, the release said.

Coble said that while the week is set aside to recognize healthcare workers who carry out these vital duties, he said that the efforts of the team at Iredell Health Systems should be constantly appreciated for the work they do on a daily basis.

“This is truly a group effort, and I’m so grateful to be part of such a great team. If it was not for the environmental services team and their immense dedication, our hospital would not be as strong and as fortunate as it is today,” Coble said. “I really appreciate them for all they do for our organization.”