Environmental services award winner says exceptional work, attitude come from the heart

Jean Williams, ES professional at Fairfield Medical Center, Lancaster, Ohio, is the winner of the 2016 Heart of Healthcare Award

Image courtesy of Fairfield Medical Center

Ask environmental services (ES) professional Jean Williams about receiving the 2016 Heart of Healthcare Award in honor of her dedicated, outstanding work and she will be sincerely modest about her achievement.

While she acknowledges that receiving the award was an awesome experience and that she takes great pride in the job she does, in the end it all “comes from the heart,” says Williams, who tends to let her work do the talking. 

Her supervisors at Fairfield Medical Center, Lancaster, Ohio, and others, on the other hand, are more than happy to gush about how Williams is exceptional in many ways.      

"Jean is dedicated to maintaining a clean and sanitary environment and is kind beyond measure," says Chris Chong, environmental services director at Fairfield.

"Her unit is always pristine — she even goes so far as to use a toothbrush to clean every nook and cranny. She is dedicated to her patients and their families and is always willing to help others," he says. 

Likewise, Amanda Northrup, ES supervisor, raves about Williams and her superior work ethic and attitude toward co-workers and patients. “She’s an exceptional person, she’s kind and she’s caring,” Northrup says about Williams, who has worked in ES for 14 years. 

Williams' outstanding performance is reflected in her ES unit's Press Ganey scores. The mean score for cleanliness was 91.7 percent and courtesy of the person cleaning the room was 95.8 percent, states the Association for the Healthcare Environment (AHE). Staff attitude toward visitors was 95 percent and promptness of response to calls was 93.8 percent.

Williams received the award at the recent 2016 EXCHANGE conference held in Pittsburgh by AHE of the American Hospital Association. AHE and Kimberly-Clark Professional present the award annually as part of the Heart of Healthcare program to recognize ES professionals for their part in enhancing patient safety.  

"By caring for the health care environment, professionals like Jean Williams help to ensure the highest levels of patient care, as well as safety and satisfaction," says Patti Costello, AHE executive director.

"We are proud to continue our involvement with this important program, which recognizes the tremendous contributions of environmental services professionals," says Sarah Happel, health care segment leader, Kimberly-Clark Professional.