Ep. 50 | Myron Linder, Environmental Services Director, SGMC Health

Transcript

---

- Welcome to another episode of What Brings You In Today? I'm Erika Bennett and I just wanna start by thanking our listening audience for tuning in. And if you haven't already, please like and subscribe so you can get notifications of our new episodes. And then of course if there's anything that you wanna hear about, please feel free to submit your questions or topics, then we'll be sure to try to get those on the lineup. So today we're here with Myron Linder, who is our Director of Environmental Services here at SGMC Health. So Myron, what brings you in today?

- Well, thank you for having me. I'm here to talk about our heroes behind the scene, our wonderful environmental services department.

- Absolutely. So if you've noticed, if you're a long time listener, we typically have physicians and healthcare deliverers, patient care techs, what have you, but people that are treating our patients. And today it is a treat to get a different perspective of a team that works in our health system that we would not function without. So we thought we'd give a little different take in. So having you on, so tell us a little bit about, first you as a person, your background, how you got here, and then we'll dig into what environmental services does here at SGMC Health.

- Okay, sounds good. Again, my name is Myron Linder. I was born in Bacon County Hospital, right there in Alma, Georgia.

- Okay.

- I graduated from Statesboro High School. That's where I met my high school sweetheart. We're still together to this day. Alright. I'm a retired marine, my wonderful wife and I have a, I have two sons and I work in environmental services. Right after I retired from the military, I graduated from Augusta University and that's where I got my start in environmental services. And I was looking for growth. My previous health system was a smaller health system and again, I was looking for growth. So what better organization to come to than an organization that is dedicated to growth, which is here at SGMC Health.

- Alright, very good. Well, I know there's been so many good things that have happened since you've come on board, but tell us a little bit about what environmental services entails within a health system. So what services are those? And then let's talk about how it impacts the whole delivery system.

- Okay. So we are infection prevention. We, first and foremost, we are here to make sure that our patients, our family members and our staff each other have a safe, a clean, comfortable and healthy environment. That includes the cleaning, the providing of linen, making sure our floors look immaculate, but most importantly we want to keep everyone safe here

- And it's a big footprint. So y'all cover everything, all the different facilities here at SGMC Health. And for those that don't know, we have, that means four hospital campuses and a million clinics, I feel like. Absolutely. But you talked about infection prevention and, and keeping people safe. And so what all does that entail? Like how do y'all approach, what's your approach to keeping a safe

- Environment? So we utilize 10 steps of cleaning when we go anywhere. And one of the most important steps in those steps of cleaning is inspect. We inspect, we, we empower our housekeepers to inspect their own work. They're on the front line, they're the ones making sure that it, the environment is absolutely clean. So inspect your work. We have supervisors that will do random inspections too, but it's a non-punitive system. We, we always tell them, we let them know that it is absolutely perfection is not expected. We're not gonna be able to deliver, deliver perfection, but we are gonna come behind. We use it as a training incident. So we may find something somewhere and guess what the next time it won't be there. So we empower the housekeepers to inspect, we allow our supervisors to come behind and do random checks just to make sure it's good. And we all realize that at the end of the day, it's absolutely for the patients. We want to provide a safe healing environment for those patients. And it's a learning experience for us. So that's how we keep it clean. It's basically the training, the performance, the inspection afterwards, the checks and balances just to make sure we're providing a quality service.

- And it's kind of one of those things no one ever talks about because it's really just expected from our patients and our guests. Right. Absolute. Absolutely. They come and expect everything to be clean and look good, but there's a lot of work and a lot of preparation that goes behind that to just keep that up to par. So let's talk about your award or Yes. The Georgia Hospital Association recently awarded a patient safety and quality award to your team for some efforts. So let's talk about those and kind of what that means.

- Okay. Absolutely. And I, I, I'm absolutely proud, proud of my team. It, it, it really brings me joy that their efforts did not go unnoticed. They absolutely earned and deserved that award. So one of the measurements that, that we take is in, in our throughput. So from the time the hospital says, Hey, this patient is healed, ready to go home, we need to get their room clean and get it ready and prepare for the next patient to come in. So that's time. So from the time the hospital says, Hey, we need a clean room, to the time we say it's clean and ready for a patient that's measured, that's our throughput or, or our turnaround time. So in 2024, our average turnaround time was about 111 minutes. So it was, it was really, really high and there was some efforts and improvements that we needed to make as a team. So first and foremost, I spoke with the team to find out what is it that they need. So looking into our processes, we fit, we found out that they really didn't have the tools they needed to succeed. So we had some housekeepers coming in. They would have to look for equipment, they would have to find different things. So we made an effort to improve that. We got them some new equipment. We partnered with Cintas, one of our vendors to put in a, a new microfiber mop and rag system that is not only safer but it's a lot more organized so that we can respond quicker when the hospital says we need those rooms. So we went from 111 minute turnaround time in 2024 and now we're averaging 60 minutes. So, and the team, they bought into it, they, they're proud of it, we all work together, we came together and they have a lot to be proud of because now our patients don't have to sit in the emergency room for hours just waiting on a clean room to come down. And that's, that's just goes to show that once we put our minds to it, we can improve anything. But we definitely are a big part of this healing process here.

- Yeah. And one of the things you mentioned outside of what we've mentioned today, but is that you did not decrease the cleaning time in any of that. The cleaning time remained the same. You didn't skip steps to clean just to get the turn turnaround time lower, but instead focus on the processes of getting to the room, identifying the room, then spending appropriate cleaning time. Absolutely. So just making sure to reiterate, you know, it's not just about turning the rooms over but maintaining that quality as you do that.

- Absolutely. We wanted to, we wanted to focus on the response time in there. Not getting in there doing the cleaning faster and trying to rush through to get it done. But we wanted to be able to respond faster. And yes, our cleaning time, the time we spent in the room remained the same while our response time, that's where the entire decrease came from

- And definitely stepped in. Again, people don't normally think about is that after every single patient leaves a room, that room has to be completely cleaned. You know, there's something that goes, has to happen from your end before the next patient can come in. Which again, reiterates that teamwork aspect of everybody in this organization plays a part. No one part is more important than the other. We're all a team. So

- Absolutely

- That's awesome that y'all are able to do that and help with that patient experience and that throughput. My team always makes fun of me when I use the word throughput. 'cause they say nobody knows what it is, but now they know it's getting someone in and out. That's it. What is, what would you say is the most surprising thing that people might not know about environmental services and the role they play?

- One of the things people I, I, I think don't realize is that not everybody can do this job. Absolutely. It, it takes a certain set of skills that really, really can't be taught. Things like being selfless, things like just caring about other people. Things about being able to put your own personal feelings aside and being able to come in and provide a quality service to everyone else. And a lot of people really don't realize that not everybody has what it takes to be able to be successful in this field.

- Yeah. I think character attributes of that integrity, respect, you know, we have integrity, respect, accountability and excellence as our core values here at SGMC Health. And I also have heard that same kind of narrative from like our biomed sterile processing in the OR is that you never know who is, you could be a patient at any moment, right? We're all susceptible to things happening or your family member and that in any of our actions we should take that as we're wanting to set it up as how we would want it set up if it were us. So I'm sure your team kind of mimics that sentiment. What is a day, what is like your most challenging

- Thing? Some of the most challenging thing is we're spread out and almost 1600 square miles. It's, it's being able to spend as much time as I want to with my team, being out there with 'em. I want to be with 'em every campus, every single day, everywhere. But you can't be everywhere at once. But I have a great leadership team who we train with. I meet with my leaders weekly just to go over some things about what's going on in their neck of the woods. But just making sure that not only my, the main campus here but our outer campuses, our Smith, our Lanier, our Arian, our many people that work at the clinic are, are, are welcome. So one of the things that we have started doing, just to make sure you know, we we're paying attention to them too, is I like to at least once a quarter get everyone together and celebrate occasions. We'll go in the main cafeteria where everybody from every campus gets to, gets to turn to, to just fellowship and, and and speak to all them at once. But being spread out across everywhere and then making, being able to maintain a clean, safe and healthy environment 24 hours a day. Right. Seven days a week. I mean, that's just a challenge not to settle. It absolutely is a daunting

- Task and dynamic and changing and

- Yes.

- Never ending. Right. We never cut our lights off. So we're they're kinda like full definitely full-time

- Yes.

- Operation. And what would you say, I know here at SGMC we like to have the motto of see it on it and really empower all of our team members to try to help any kind of situation they see take ownership to that kind of fixing something or helping someone. What you've been at other organizations, what would you say sets our culture apart from others?

- It absolutely that you see it, you own it. It, while we as our housekeeping department, we are on the front lines, we have the tools, the training to do it, but it definitely takes everyone's effort to maintain a clean environment. Even if it's something as simple as calling us and reporting that, hey, this is what I am seeing. It absolutely takes an effort. And one thing that SGMC health does extremely well is everyone taking ownership of their areas. And when they see it, they're not saying, it's not my problem. That's only on them. And that's, that's where we are successful. And I, and that's what I love about the organization.

- And how important is that to your team specifically to know that like they have the support of everyone and that it's not this whole, the cleanliness of this whole camp is not just falling solely on them, but that we all take heart in it because it's our house.

- It it, it, it absolutely does it, it takes the pressure off of them. It it, it makes them feel like, you know, we are being supported, we are being appreciated. I have, I have some of my housekeeper that that'll sit there and tell you, tell some of the members straight up, look, your mama don't work here. We all in this together. That's, we got, we gotta keep this place clean. I need your help. So it, it does it, it means a lot to, to the team to know that, you know, we are being supported and we, we we're in this together and we'll work together. 'cause it's a daunting task to keep it clean again 24 7, 365.

- What I know that your team members, they do, they develop relationships with patients oftentimes 'cause they see that, especially for patients that are here for long periods of times. What's like the most impactful or surprising story that you've heard of how, or do you have any that you'd wanna

- Share? Oh my goodness. That's,

- I it's probably hard 'cause I caught you off guard on that one, but if you think, I know they're probably out there and I've heard several

- Before, there's just so many I could flip through. I, I think one thing that, that, that stands out. But again, I, I mean I hear stories of, you know, housekeepers, you know, praying with, they, they people telling me that this is the nicest I've ever been treated in my life. Somebody come in there, this is the first time someone treats me like a human being and talks to me and cares about me. But one, one thing that stands out in particular, and this made me know that this was a field for me. I was a young father and as a young father, my wife at the time, my wife was in the hospital. This is her first pregnancy. We are already nervous. We didn't know what was going on. She was experiencing pain. So we were, we were extremely worried. And our housekeeper would come by, she would let us know it's gonna be okay. She prayed for us right there. She really gave us comfort in a time where it was just, oh my goodness. We, we were, we were afraid. We really were afraid. We, we made it through it and never forgot that housekeeper. So fast forward to my job as a manager. The first email I got from a patient was thanking their housekeeper. They were a young couple. They, they were in the hospital. She said that it could have been me 20 something years ago, writing this letter to myself in the future. But she talked about how that housekeeper came in there, made them so much comfortable, brought light to a dark situation. And I'm like, wow, this is what we do.

- Yeah.

- This is what our housekeepers do day in and day out.

- Wow. That's so, I mean, it's so impactful. Everybody plays a role and has the opportunity to connect and impact those around them.

- Yes.

- What would be some goals that you have for your area or just in general to

- 20, 20, 25 was a, was a great year when it came to our turnaround time, 2026. This year. I, I really want to focus on the quality. And again, it's gonna take a team effort. I, I want to wow people. I want this, I want to be known as the cleanest hospital in the region. It's going to happen when we put our mind to something, we, we make it happen. But I, I want the patients, when they come in, I want them to get, like, it's a high end hotel right when they walk in here, when they, when we give that, when we give that experience to them, I want to, wow, I want to blow them away. I want us to provide the best service possible and I want us to be known as the cleanest hospital in the region. So that's some of the steps we're gonna be taking this year is focusing on that quality aspects and constantly improving that.

- Yeah, that's exciting. I look forward to watching the process and being a part of it. What would you tell anybody that's looking for a career, maybe that's hearing this and it's like, well, maybe I should consider embarking, you know, applying for a job at SUNC Health and what they can look forward to. What, what kind of opportunities are there?

- Oh, that's awesome. Housekeeping isn't one of those jobs that you necessarily see at a career fair. It's one of those, it's, it is one of the careers where you come into and you stay in it because you're good at it and you like what you're doing. A lot of people will tell you if you can succeed in housekeeping, there is not another job that you cannot succeed in. There's always opportunity for growth because we hone those skills that people look for those intangibles, like you were talking about, being unselfish, being on time, being accountable, caring, giving great customer service. So those are some of the skills that, you know, we, we hone in this department and we build that foundation to where you can, you can be successful in any business. And again, I came into this business, I actually started off as a housekeeper. I worked as a housekeeper when I was in college. And being around the people, loving the people, loving what we do. You first and foremost, you have to have a passion for people to be in this. And eventually I became a manager, then assistant director, and now director. So it's definitely room for growth. It, it, it definitely, again, it gives you those skills that you, where you can succeed anywhere. And it's, it's, it's so rewarding. It's so rewarding. So

- What's some of the most exciting things or what excites you most that's happening here or just in the health system in general, as you work here, as just as an employee, what excites you most that you see happening?

- Honestly, seeing the growth of everything like it. I've only been here 18 months and from the time I stepped in here to right now, I really cannot believe how far we've grown as an organization. And it, and there's no reduction in the quality of service that we are given to the community. I just love seeing the growth of the health system and the expansion of it and the way we all come together from our safety huddles, the way we communicate and we problem solve and we work things out as a team. I, I just, I I I love it.

- Yeah.

- I'm at home here.

- I agree. I like that too. And then you never know what's gonna happen on a day-to-day basis. So I just think about, you know, an incident that happened recently where there happened to be a small on fire that popped up, but the team's response to be able to confine that and then again, address all the areas that were impacted and get it back up functioning very quickly. Just wanted to shout out your team for that because I know that they were on the spot as soon as, you know, it happened and really worked tirelessly to get that up and going so that no patients were delayed.

- Oh yeah, absolutely. I was, I was so proud of my team for the response

- Time - And, and I'm accustomed to that being a Marine. They call us America's nine one one force because we can be somewhere at the drop of a dime to take care of it. And I tell my team, they responded like Marines

- Today. Yeah.

- It was like it, we received a phone call and the next thing you know, we had a a, a whole squad up

- There. Yep.

- Just taking care of, of everything in there. And it was really not an easy task when you have fire extinguisher, dust everywhere left there. But they

- Really, really, I've did a great job. I've never executed or discharged a fire extinguisher, so I don't quite know what that looks like, but I imagine it is vast.

- Yes.

- And then cumbersome to re regroup from. So, but it does bring, you know, a lot of comfort knowing that we have a team that can respond like that and execute on that level so quickly. So just wanted to give them a shout out for that as well.

- Absolutely.

- Anything you wanna share that, any common misconceptions or anything that people just aren't unaware of that could open their eyes or shed a little light onto your

- World? Again, housekeeping isn't one of those things we necessarily think about until it's not done

- Right. Yeah. And that, it's kind of one of those things that you, if everything's good, everything, nothing is said, but if anything's off kilter, you know, that's when it's a problem.

- Right, right. So just one of the biggest things, just remember to thank your housekeeper again. Remember to thank, remember to communicate with them. Remember to, to just work as a team and always remember that they too are a big part of what we do. We we're, we're just as much as the heal important and healing process as your doctors or surgeon performing a procedure. So without us,

- We couldn't operate, we couldn't do what we did,

- We couldn't at all.

- So yes. Awesome. All right. Well the last question I have is what we ask every guest is, what is your favorite meal to eat here at SGMC Health?

- I'm a, I'm a breakfast guy. Okay. So the cheese, grits, eggs and sausage bowl. Okay. Chopped up in there sometime I'll live a little dangerously and put an extra slice of cheese on the top. Okay. That is, that's my favorite meal right there.

- I, I had to stop all those because I was eating those too much. I started to see it impact. They're big. So big. Yes. Don't star unless you, you know, fair warning. But yeah, they are. But those are definitely delicious. Our all past does a great job. Absolutely. Keeping everybody fed. So. All right. Well I appreciate you. Is there anything else you wanna share before we

- Just to my EVS team? I just want them to know I am extremely proud. I am extremely grateful. Our organization is extremely thankful to have them. And again, without them there would be no us. So each and every day you come in, thank you for setting aside the things we know. You go through a lot at home, but when you get in here, we can't even see it because you all come in and you take care of these patients better than I've seen. So I am extremely, I'm humble, I'm blessed to have this team and I, I really appreciate 'em. SGMC Health appreciates you all from the bottom of my heart. Our heart. So thank you. EVS.

- Yes, absolutely. Well, can't say anything else to follow that. So we'll just thank our viewers for listening and be sure to drop us any questions or any topics that you wanna hear about in the upcoming episode. So thank you.