Page 8 - KMAland Healthcare Heroes

8 A Salute to KMAland Healthcare Heroes KMAland 2021

my ES staff members stepped up to contacting our sales representatives We use the new UV sanitizing
help. Having been trained to clean to get the supplies we needed - and light as an additional layer of room
contaminated areas and yet know- it still continues. A great deal of disinfecting and to disinfect PPE
ing how serious this situation was, time was also spent preparing for and patient equipment. All this
we just considered it another day at social distancing. We rearranged required a great deal of time and
the office. We put on our Personal the lobbies, hallways and cafeteria physical labor and has kept us quite
Protective Equipment (PPE) and to accommodate social distancing, busy!
went to work. Five hours later, the helped place screening stations at I am very proud of my
three of us had accomplished our the entrances and stationed hand Environmental Services team, each
goal and we did it safely! sanitizers everywhere. It was dur- and every one has stepped up when
The next several months were ing this time we ordered our first needed and performed like the pro-
met with many challenges that Ultra Violet (UV) sanitizing light. fessionals they are! They did their
soon became routine, such as sup- As mid-summer approached job safely and properly and kept
ply shortages; spray bottles were COVID-positive patients began their coworkers and our patients
in short supply, along with face to present to our Emergency safe. I am proud to say that each
masks, bleach, cleaning products, Department and be admitted to and every one of them proved to
paper products and just about any- the hospital. The ES team did their be dedicated and brave and never
thing that involved hospitals and part. Some of my staff would be once did they falter from their task!
cleaning. Having been appointed considered high risk and yet they
Logistics Chief, I felt we were all pitched in to clean and sanitize Holly Crowell, RN, CPHQ
well stocked with the basic clean- the ED rooms, the patient dismissal Montgomery County Memorial
ing products we needed. However, rooms, as well as many other areas Hospital Infection Prevention &
many items continue to be nearly of the hospital that may have been Quality Improvement
impossible to obtain. Our pur- contaminated. This involved wash-
chasing agent and I spent many ing walls and scrubbing floors and
hours searching the internet and disinfecting all items in the room.