“I’m a Housekeeper, and since the beginning of the pandemic, I’ve been working in the Emergency Room (ER) at the hospital.
On top of the daily duties that I have, like cleaning bathrooms, in the ER we’re called to do ‘droplet cleans’, meaning that we do a triple-clean of everything with all of our PPE on. So, we have to gown up for each cleaning.
The ER is one of the most fast-paced areas in the hospital. On busy days, we’re cleaning discharge after discharge. So, cleaning in this area can be a lot more stressful and take more time than other places.
Beyond the stress of the job, many of us are dealing with other stresses. Because of COVID, I was the sole income-earner in my family, and this created a lot of extra pressure.
But I love working for the hospital. I love working with the patients, the nurses and doctors. The patients understand the hard work that we do, and they often thank us.
If our jobs could be brought back in-house, we’d feel more recognized for the work that we do, and that we’re worth it.
I’m employed by the private contractor. But really, I see myself as working for the hospital. This recognition alone would be huge for us, especially among the doctors and nurses that we work with.
We’re all in the health care team, and we want to be recognized as part of the team.”
- Julie, Housekeeper, part of the health care team