About the Author: Kelvin Moreno is the director of environmental services at the Masonic Village at Elizabethtown.
You are probably thinking, “That’s easy, it’s a cleaning service.” You would be correct, but we are so much more. Several years ago, one of our residents asked this question, and I had to stop and think about my answer. I spoke briefly about the housekeeping and laundry services we provide but realized in my own conversation that yes, we are so much more.
Environmental services does include housekeeping and laundry services, but in recent years, our emphasis has expanded to include infection control. Infection control is the prevention and controlling of the spread of infectious diseases within an organization and requires specific skills and services. Our department not only cleans to make Masonic Village beautiful, we now have a bigger purpose, preventing the spread of communicable diseases by sanitizing public areas, private rooms and laundering linen and clothing.
With this in mind, the scope of cleaning has also expanded to floor care and the use of new technology to combat infectious diseases. When it comes to infection control, we need to maintain proper cleaning techniques and chemicals, or our flooring may become a breeding ground for bacteria and diseases. With this in mind, we have increased our knowledge in regards to types of flooring, proper procedures and new technology needed to maintain and care for those floor types. New technology such as floor scrubbers and carpet extractors also give us the ability to become efficient cleaners and provide safer floors and carpets for our residents.
Laundry also pays a key role in the prevention of infectious diseases, but many times, laundry can be forgotten as a key contributor in infection control. Our laundry area currently launders 1.5 million pounds of laundry a year, making the operation a critical component. This led to the introduction of the new ozone system. The system generates ozone gases by using electrical energy to break apart oxygen molecules, developing a powerful sanitizer which helps in the elimination of infectious diseases and bacteria.
Due to powerful sanitizer, wash cycles can be conducted using cold water, reduction of detergent and shorter rinse cycles, which all lead to increased linen life. This current operation has also helped us increase the sustainability of our environment and lower our electric usage, which contributes to cost savings.
So, if I am asked today to define our department, I would have to say:
The Environmental Services Department is a group of individuals who specialize in keeping a germfree, sanitized environment, which includes monitoring infection control, carpet care, cleaning and performing specialty services. We are ambassadors of Masonic Village and strive to treat everyone with dignity, respect and compassion while providing a well-organized environment resulting in a safe, more efficient and productive operation while maintaining a high level of cleanliness.
