Feature -- by Berenice Gargus

Errol Saunders is an Aide 1 at Foothills Hospital.

Next time you're at the Foothills Medical Centre, have a look at the staff uniforms. You'll quickly be able to identify everyone's role by the colour they're wearing. Green is for nurses, porters wear berry, and blue is for housekeepers. The system works well in an environment where someone trained for a certain role might be needed at a moment's notice. That includes housekeeping.

A sterile environment is essential for the safety and health of everyone in the hospital. Distribution Services Manager Frank Galetta and Coordinator Audrey Noble try to make sure they have the best cleaners reporting for duty each day.

"Housekeeping is really critical in controlling bugs such as SARS and others you don't hear about," Galetta says. "I think there's a bit more prestige attached to it than there was in the past."

If you think you could get used to that royal blue uniform, you'll be glad to know Foothills is almost always hiring. With over 400 housekeeping positions and as many as 100 people leaving per year, it's safe to say the management team is open to seeing your application.

Housekeeping Aide 1 is an entry level position and qualifications are just a grade 10 education, the ability to speak and write clearly in English and good physical endurance. Wages start at a handsome $11.64/hr. So what's the catch?

"You have to understand we're not cleaning offices here," Galetta says. "We do, but you're [mainly] working in areas where there's all kinds of blood and body fluids, fecal matter, sick patients. You might clean ORs between cases [or be] in isolation areas where you're going to have to wear protective garments."

So if you don't have a cast-iron stomach, this might not be your kind of work. But those who are organized and like to clean will find many perks -- including medical benefits for employees who become permanent. Plus, after 2,022 hours of service, a housekeeper's wage will automatically go up to $12.70/hr.

Initial training is in-depth as new hires go through at least two weeks of classroom studies and job-shadowing. After that, ongoing training continues in various ways throughout the year.

Those who prove serious and conscientious can gradually move into a supervisory role as working leaders and increase their wage to $14.36 - $15.75/hr. With less hands-on cleaning, the job involves overseeing work on the units, doing quality assurance checks and helping with both classroom and daily on-shift training.

Aside from a good wage, Foothills offers great shift flexibility. With so many staff members needed, each housecleaner can choose a start time that fits their schedule. Day shifts begin at various times between 6:30 AM and noon. Afternoons start between 2 and 5 PM and midnight shifts start at 10:30 or 11 PM and finish about 7 AM.

What you can't control is what you'll be cleaning. According to Galetta, "When you gain a position as an Aide 1, you can essentially be put anywhere." That might include projects (floor care), the waste division (pick up and disposal of general or bio-hazardous wastes) or cleaning on the units (in patient rooms, offices, labor & delivery rooms, etc.). "Typically though, our better workers are put in OR and areas we consider critical."

The day's work is mapped out so teams are central to an area rather than a type of cleaning. Hint: if you'd prefer to clean offices, labs or clinics instead of patient and surgery rooms, you'd be wise to ask for the night shift.

All housekeepers are hired as casual labourers but can gradually advance to part- or full-time status. Casuals fill in for people on vacation or out sick. They can be called in to work several weeks or just an hour prior to a shift.

With so many staff members, how does the scheduler know whom to call first?

Much of it is based on performance, Noble says. "Obviously people who are reliable tend to get more hours than the person who doesn't have a lot of ambition and takes their time getting here." Galetta adds that more shifts are available at certain times of the year.

Chances are also better if you can work the midnight slot. "The more you're flexible, the more you're available, the more shifts you'll see," says Noble. "We want people who respond very quickly, do their work very well."

As a casual employee, you can get as many as 7 shifts in a week or as few as one. Once you become part-time, you'll average around 27 hours (3.5 days) per week. Over a pay period that equates to seven shifts -- also known as a ".7". This may be scheduled either at varying times or as a "seven in seven" which means seven days on, seven days off. Full-time hours are 7.75 hours/day for a 38.75-hour work week, also known as a .10 (meaning 10 days of work in a two-week pay period).

"Some people work a .4, which is just weekends," says Noble. "This is a great scenario for working students or mothers who want to be home with the family during the week."

As for on-the-job safety, every precaution is taken to protect both staff and patients from exposure hazards. All staff receives WHMIS training and is taught how to deal with cleaning products safely. The cleaning solutions are approved through Occupational Health and are tested before they're put on the wards. "Here you might be cleaning 15 bathrooms in a seven-hour day," Galetta says. "So your exposure's a lot higher." He believes the stuff we use at home is a lot harsher than Foothills' diluted commercial products.

Hospital housekeeping can be treated as a long-term career or as "a stepping stone to something else," says Galetta. He and Noble agree that the blue uniform can lead to another colour, even if it takes five or more years.

"In all honesty, anybody who can do more will move on, unless they get into a supervisory role," says Galetta. Foothills housekeepers have advanced to porters (moving patients, equipment and supplies throughout the hospital), unit clerks, lab techs, EMTs and even nurses. "Quite a few housekeepers run their own businesses on the side," Noble adds. Or they use cleaning as a chance to check out the higher level jobs before investing in advanced education and training.

And it's exciting to be part of a nursing unit or on emergency. "Nurses, doctors and other staff realize good housekeepers are part of the team," says Galetta.

"Oftentimes we have nursing units going out at Christmas and they ask to take our housekeeper with them," adds Noble.

Many hospital cleaners take pride in the fact they help make life better for the patients. "If you're not in a clean environment it can cause a whole lot of problems," Galetta stresses. "We try to make our housekeepers realize how important they are."

Related info:

Foothills Hospital