Environmental Services Employees Earn CHEST Certification
Med Center Health recognized its first Certified Health Care Environmental Services Technicians (CHEST) with a celebration on November 13. Sheila Colter, Gladys Gregory, Diane Lightfoot, Karon Mitchell and Helen Potter participated in the pilot CHEST program at The Medical Center at Bowling Green and successfully completed the certification exam.
The CHEST program pairs quality education for high-performing health care environmental services professionals with evidence-based training sessions. The program covers all aspects of a frontline worker’s typical tasks and accountabilities. This includes infection prevention, disinfection, communication, safety, waste and linen handling, and floor care. These team members completed a total of 24 hours of education before taking the certification exam.
“We are exceedingly proud of our Environmental Services team members for attaining the prestigious CHEST designation,” said Jonathan Phelps, Director of Environmental & Linen Services. Combined, these five employees have more than 150 years of experience in Environmental Services. “This is a significant step in our continuing efforts to improve patient safety and decrease the risk of health care associated infections.”
The CHEST certification is offered through the Association for the Health Care Environment and is recognized by the American Hospital Association. Med Center Health used a train-the-trainer approach with all training performed in-house by Jonathan who is a certified trainer.
Congratulations to Sheila, Gladys, Diane, Karon and Helen for this great achievement!
