Environmental Services Technician

Environmental Services Technician

This position is located within the Environmental Management Services Division of the Edward Hines Jr VA Hospital System. This position is under the direct supervision of the Housekeeping Supervisor or designee and performs both janitorial and custodial services.

The Housekeeping Aid (HKA) - Environmental Services (EVS) Technicians who maintain VA facilities for Veterans and their families are essential to the patient care experience at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). A VA healthcare career as a Housekeeping Aid (HKA) - Environmental Services (EVS) Technician means working alongside other Veterans, who make up 85 percent of the housekeeping staff. As a Housekeeping Aid (HKA) - Environmental Services (EVS) Technicians you will perform a full range of light and heavy cleaning duties and routine housekeeping duties. Veterans rely on the skills of these professionals to keep patient areas clean and safe.

The Housekeeping Aid (HKA) - Environmental Services (EVS) Technicians executes a full range of housekeeping activities in patient and non-patient care areas. The position may be assigned to any tour and may be required to work in various designated areas during any tour of duty. Typically, the position works independently with general supervision, or works with a team and is responsible for the full-range of cleaning duties in an assigned area throughout the medical facility. These duties include, but are not limited to the following:

• Performs floor maintenance, wall washing.
• Cleans doors, doorframes, baseboard corners.
• Tasks are accomplished by sweeping, dust mopping, damp and wet mopping, scrubbing, stripping, refinishing, buffing, vacuuming, and extracting carpets and runners, spot cleaning areas, and high and low dusting.
• Periodically utilizes pressure washers and heavy industrial powered and battery-operated equipment the above task.
• Adjusts, cleans, and performs minor maintenance on this equipment and changes attachments for their proper use in achieving the best results.
• Empties trash and wastebaskets, replaces liners.
• Transports general refuse, regulated medical waste and recycling to central collection areas.
• Cleans rest rooms, bathrooms, and shower rooms, ensuring that they are cleaned and meet acceptable standards (cleans, disinfects, and deodorizes lavatories, showers, bathtubs, urinals, and toilet bowls; cleans mirrors, sinks, and water fountains; washes and polishes light and toilet fixtures).
• Replenishes supplies of paper towels, toilet paper, hand sanitizers, and soap in all areas where dispensers are located.
• Moves and arranges furniture, patient wardrobes, beds, etc. in the assigned area to accomplish cleaning tasks.
• Provides bed-making services in patient care areas and OD rooms; cleans mattresses, springs, and bed frames; and cleans bedside stands, over bed lights, blood pressure cuffs, bed tables, etc. in patient rooms; Removes bags of soiled textiles from patient rooms and transports to the designated soiled room in each ward area; Loads and unloads clean textiles from bulk carts. Restocks clean textile closets, cabinets, shelves, carts, and participates in inventory management activities.
• Defrosts and cleans patient care refrigerators and ice machines in nourishment kitchen areas; cleans stainless steel on storage instrument cabinets and counters, elevators in lobbies, wards, diet-kitchens, and nurse utility rooms; and cleans ashtrays, smoke stands, sand urns in designated smoke areas and water fountains; Provides interim cleaning of windows and window ledges from the inside, cleans glass door and other glass surfaces; and replaces curtains and cleans blinds.
• Cleans and/or replaces needle boxes. Periodically cleans specific non-critical Reusable Medical Equipment (RME) in inpatient and clinical areas of the medical center.

Work Schedule: Full time, various shifts, will be discussed during the interview process. Positions require rotating and fluctuating shift work to include providing coverage days, evenings, weekends, holidays, and for special situations.

Physical Effort: The position demands continuous walking, standing, stooping, kneeling, pulling, and pushing. The work requires the occasional use of heavy-powered cleaning equipment (e.g., wall washers, industrial-type buffers) weighing over 50 pounds. The duties necessitate considerable dexterity, hand, foot, and eye coordination, and concentration as well as visual acuity to see dirt, dust and debris.

Requirements Conditions of Employment U.S. Citizenship; non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. Suitable for Federal employment, determined by a background investigation All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA. Selective Services Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements.

Positions require rotating and fluctuating shift work to include providing coverage days, evenings, weekends, holidays, and for special situations. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement. EXPERIENCE: A specific length of training and experience is not required, but you must show evidence of training or experience of sufficient scope and quality of your ability to do the work of this position. Evidence which demonstrates you possess the knowledge, skills, and ability to perform the duties of this position must be supported by detailed descriptions of such on your resume. Applicants will be rated in accordance with the OPM Federal Wage System Qualification Standards.

Screen-Out Element: Your qualifications will first be evaluated against the prescribed screen out element, which usually appears as question 1 in the on-line questionnaire. Those applicants who appear to possess at least the minimal acceptable qualification requirement are considered for further rating; those who do not are rated ineligible and are eliminated. The potential eligibles are then rated against the remainder of the Job Elements.