At one time, disaster movies about besieged airports and towering infernos were considered a great way to escape from reality. In the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, deadly hurricanes and tornadoes, the Haitian earthquake and the recent Gulf oil spill, we're realizing that disasters are more often reality than fantasy. The desire to escape has been replaced by the need to prepare, and no one is more aware of that than custodial managers.

Most emergency preparedness plans outline procedures and responsibilities in a variety of natural and man-made disaster scenarios: extreme weather, floods, earthquakes, fire, hazardous material spills, pandemics, utility failures, civil unrest and even terrorism.

"You name it, we have a contingency for it," said Eric Bates, director of environmental services at Milwaukee's Jewish Home and Care Center. He knows the importance of having a plan not just for the facility as a whole, but for the custodial department as well.

"Most people don't realize that when there's a stressful situation, the environmental services department is very important," he said. "Housekeepers are very much a part of the emergency response team."

Preparation and Recovery

Housekeeping managers who have experience responding to a disaster enthusiastically agree. Often, they've learned how to plan for various contingencies through trial and error:

• In the last five years, Kevin Harris, director of maintenance and operations for the Clear Creek Independent School District in Houston, has been through hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Ike, with Ike being a direct hit.

"We are intimately familiar with water damage," said Harris.

His custodial foremen are now certified by The Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) for carpet cleaning, restoration and repair and are en route to Master Cleaner/Restorer designations. Because mold is regulated in Texas, Clear Creek has two Certified Assessment Consultants and two Certified Remediators on its in-house team.

"The custodial crew plays a very diverse role in the event of a disaster," Harris added. They may be called upon to set up tables for disaster relief, remove floodwater from a building and monitor drying efforts, assist in trash and debris removal, carpet removal and site assessments.

• At Palm Beach Atlantic University in Fla., Michael Steger, director of physical plant services, is always reminded that moms and dads have entrusted their kids to the staff.

His department warehouses hurricane preparation and recovery supplies such as food, water, tarps, plastic, tape, plywood and fuel. His staff is involved in both initial response (securing loose items and distributing plastic liners to cover essential equipment) and recovery details (inspecting campus facilities immediately after an event). One of the biggest concerns is the lack of electrical power.

"If fire alarms aren't working, we won't let students move back into their dorms," he noted.

• At San Diego State University, in San Diego, Manager of Housekeeping Facilities Services Benita Mann and her staff are part of a comprehensive and multi-layered emergency plan. With a mostly commuter population of 31,000, communication is a challenge. To get information out to the masses, there's a toll-free number for up-to-the-minute information, and the security department can use a combination of tones, sirens and voice through a mass notification system installed on buildings across campus.

Mann's staff also plays a huge role in keeping the housing comfortable for the 4,500 student residents. During the wildfires of 2003 and 2007, the campus was closed due to dangerous air quality, but residents remained in their dorms. For a week, housekeeping staff continued to work part time until the danger was over.

• Janet Wiggins, C.E.H., is director of housekeeping at Mike O'Callaghan Federal Hospital at Nellis Air Force Base, outside of Las Vegas. Security and preparedness are of the utmost importance on a military base, but in a hospital, biohazards such as Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and other infections are the more immediate threat.

Fortunately, the worst disaster Wiggins and her staff have had to face to date was a sewer backup that resulted in 10 inches of dirty water in the emergency room and X-ray departments. One important lesson they learned was to inform occupants of the entire building to stop using the restrooms so additional water wouldn't enter the affected area.

"It took us all day to clean up, disinfect and get the approval from the public health officer that we were doing what we needed to do to prevent disease," she said.

• Geisinger Health Systems, in Danville, Pa., follows the national Hospital Incident Command System methodology to deal with emergencies. While they've had no natural disasters, large multiple-casualty accidents put stress on the emergency and operating departments, reported Jack Van Reeth, manager of environmental services.

"At the command center we communicate with other departments, then reallocate labor to affected areas if there's damage within the hospital. Or we divert labor to patient care areas due to accelerated demands," said Van Reeth. Overhead pages, plus walkie-talkies facilitate internal communications and alert staff so they don't stumble into a potential crime scene or hazard.

Planning is crucial to effectively deal with such varied disaster scenarios, and the plan must be revisited frequently.

"You can't plan for every eventuality," said Steger. "Every time a new incident occurs, a new response is developed."

Harris recommends that every plan includes water storage, restoration equipment, telephone lists, chemicals and cleaning procedures for various situations, and materials for debris removal and emergency trash disposal.

Training Is Crucial

Once the plan is in place, training ensures that the staff will respond accordingly in the event of a disaster.

Harris knows from experience that it pays to invest both time and money in training.

"Every job is an opportunity to reinforce your training in real life situations," he says. "Every job that can be properly done by in-house staff increases the value of your department" — and saves the employer money.

Bates encourages managers to take advantage of training, such as that from local International Executive Housekeepers Association (IEHA) chapters, which provide sessions relating to sharing best practices for emergency preparedness. Opportunities like this are something he hopes to bring to the national level.

To stay up-to-date, Wiggins' staff receives training during monthly, hour-long sessions, where everything from fire safety to blood-borne pathogens is discussed. There's usually at least one session on health awareness, which covers everything from personal protective equipment to contact isolation procedures for flu, MRSA and tuberculosis.

In today's more cautionary environment, training should include tips on being an extra set of "eyes and ears" to avert criminal or even terrorist activities. In many facilities, no one is more intimately familiar with the normal layout of each room than the housekeeper or custodian; they may be the first to notice a change that indicates a security threat.

Steger knows of at least two incidents when a sharp-eyed employee was able to intervene in a potentially dangerous situation.

"When a suspicious person is spotted, employees get on the radio and follow the intruder at a safe distance so security knows where they are going," he said, adding that they take precautions to guarantee their own safety first.

On one occasion, one of Steger's maintenance staff entered a restroom and saw a pistol handle protruding from a bag being carried by a student. He notified security, who quickly discovered that the student was in the theater department and the pistol was a prop.

That level of alertness also applies to enemies of a different sort. Harris' staff is always on the lookout for potential mold growth.

"Odors, discoloration of materials and heat fluctuations should all be brought to the attention of a supervisor, and a work order generated to inspect the potential source," says Harris.

Nurturing Dedication

A good work ethic can't necessarily be taught, but the savvy housekeeping manager can nurture an environment that encourages and rewards dedication to the job.

Mann was proud of her staff's reaction to the Sept. 11 attacks.

"The campus was closed for the remainder of the day, and our staff could have left along with everyone else, but they stayed and worked their areas. We didn't know what would be happening the following day," she said.

Steger has seen similar dedication and ownership from his staff.

"After Hurricane Wilma, when our housekeepers had every right to be out at the emergency operations center accepting food, water and ice assistance, each and every one of them showed up the morning after the storm ready to go to work," says Steger.

Harris has never required any employee to stay behind in a potentially catastrophic event, but those who volunteer stay at a safety shelter that's manned by law enforcement and stocked with potable water and safety equipment. Harris also has the latitude to offer appropriate compensation for those who return to work immediately after a disaster.

"We've never had a lack of employees willing to meet the district's needs," he says.

Bates also had employees at his previous facility staying over during weather emergencies.

"We had an area for people who needed to sleep over," he said. "Being housekeepers, they automatically started straightening up the area where they were staying," he noted.

"It is a bright moment on a dreary day when the group comes together and the training efforts take over," said Harris. "When managed correctly, a routine cleaning procedure can become part of a major restoration effort."

Maureen Connors Badding is a freelancer based in Milwaukee, Wis.




POSTED ON: 8/16/2010