EVS Cleaning Crew - Everyday Extraordinary
Heroes who bravely left our clinic to disinfect another
In the first days of the deadly coronavirus pandemic—when cleanliness literally became a matter of life or death—five courageous members of the University Health Environmental Services team stepped up to do their everyday job in extraordinary service to their community.
The Environmental Services (EVS) team was already working overtime disinfecting their own facilities to protect University Health employees and patients. Then in mid-March Haven for Hope reached out in desperate need of a cleaning crew to sanitize the CentroMed Sarah E. Davidson Clinic.
“Even as anxiety surrounding COVID-19 was high, the EVS cleaning crew rose to the challenge and used their skills to help fellow San Antonians,” said Senior Director of Operations Rosa Olivares. “They went above and beyond their daily responsibilities by contributing back to their community.”
With less than a day’s notice, EVS Ambulatory Manager Antonio Moore requested volunteers to clean the 8,000-square-foot facility, at a time when it was uncertain whether even stepping into a new location might bring a risk of infection.
But no one had to twist any arms—five crew members stepped up to accept the Mission Impossible–style assignment.
The team had only just begun to determine proper sanitation protocols amid the COVID-19 crisis, but they already displayed remarkable creativity—substituting effective supplies when many cleaning necessities were in high demand and short supply.
Equipped with a Clorox Total 360 disinfectant sprayer and a Xenex LightStrike Robot that uses ultraviolet light to deactivate the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the EVS crew pretreated the facility. Then they went in to do a detailed sterilization of every nook and cranny to safeguard Haven for Hope workers against the pathogen.
At a time when the seemingly simple task of cleaning a building required an unexpected level of heroism, the EVS crew was proud to do their ordinary job to help the community in an extraordinary way.
“The EVS team diligently cleans rooms after each patient to keep everyone safe.” Olivares said. “Without them, we couldn’t run University Health."
