Kudos! Housekeeping shines on the front line

There are more than 100 housekeeping staff between both Cape Cod and Falmouth hospitals. Jeffrey Sullivan, director of housekeeping, said each one has stepped up and performed this critically important work, learning new processes and joining forces with staff in COVID-19 units to keep everyone safe.

“I didn’t have a housekeeper who wasn’t nervous at first, but honestly, they’ve all been just phenomenal,” said Sullivan.

The practice of housekeeping is critical for infection control, and their work has become more intense in recent weeks.

 “You’re under the microscope; it’s not just the rooms, it’s all the public spaces – handrails, elevator buttons,” according to Sullivan. The most challenging of this work, however, is in the ED and COVID-19 patient rooms, which need “terminal” cleaning. Floors, walls, everything in the room needs to be disinfected. A process that used to take ten minutes now takes at least three times that.

And because housekeeping staff are also required to don personal protective equipment for the COVID-19 areas, it makes their mission even more challenging as they move about the hospital.

Sullivan credits the nursing staff for their support, particularly in the COVID-19 units, for embracing and encouraging his staff, and praises hospital leadership for preparing his team with the information, tools and safety protocols they needed.

“Since this became a reality, the leadership has put their foot on the gas pedal and has never let up,” Sullivan said. “It gets lost, what goes on behind the scenes.”

And he’s incredibly proud of the housekeeping team.

“We can’t thank them enough for what they do. Cape Cod needs you now and you’ve been there every step of the way.”