FACES South Alameda County graduating seniors with Program Coordinator, Reatha Conn.
“Good evening ladies and gentlemen. I am truly honored to be here with you this evening.
Reatha (Program Coordinator) has been with your students every step of the way and has been very instrumental in facilitating this program in a positive manner. So I would like to say thank you to Reatha and the entire FACES team for your energy and efforts in developing these students and helping them step forward into a future in healthcare.
I always say working in health care is a calling… You have to have a passion for helping others. I tell my staff that when you arrive at work, to leave emotion at the door. Once you step through the doorway, everything you do should be about patient care.
As you step into the future of healthcare, it is important to know that you are going to see, hear and experience a variety of circumstances. Some will be more challenging than others. But if your heart is in it and if you maintain your focus, you will be successful no matter what that challenge might be.
Left: Eulix and Edward posing at Alameda Hospital. Right: Eulix in a safety “bunny suit”.
There are a lot of uncertainties in life, especially when it comes to our health. So we try to do everything in our power to live healthy lives and foster healthy environments.
As the Environmental Services Manager, my role is to ensure we work in a clean and safe environment for our patients, visitors, and staff.
When I was first asked to be a part of the FACES for the Future program, I was initially reluctant. My first thoughts were that the students don’t need to know how to clean. They are stepping into healthcare to become doctors, nurses, radiology techs, nutritionists, and clinicians.
So I asked myself, what can I offer these students that would, number 1, keep them engaged, number 2, would be meaningful, and number 3, have a lasting effect on them. Because I am the EVS Manager, I have a role to play in every department. So I decided to treat them as if they were new supervisors and needed to be trained on every aspect of environmental services.
Eulix and Megan were my students. Both were very much engaged and focused, although Eulix, with his sly sense of humor, kept me on my toes. Eulix said to me, “I never really paid attention to the smells that are in hospitals”. A patient was being changed at the time. My only response to him was “life is good”.
We rounded on all departments, we inspected rooms, I even had them interacting with patients performing Patient Satisfaction Surveys to ensure we were meeting their expectations. Occasionally, we joined with other groups to listen in on the lessons that were being taught by my fellow mentors.
Edward with a few FACES South Alameda County health scholars.
This allowed them to meet many employees and managers of various disciplines, from the operating rooms to the emergency room, with my objective being to expose them to other areas of the hospital that might interest them as well as letting them experience the enthusiasm and love people have for their respective fields. All the while, teaching them about maintaining a clean environment, that every position in the hospital is valuable, and we all have a unique role to play in the care of our patients.
In healthcare, the quality of care we give our patients is of the utmost importance. Alameda Hospital and as a member of the entire Alameda Health System. our mission is caring, healing, teaching, and serving all. So as you further your education and knowledge in healthcare, I would encourage you to remember the experience you had here. Remember the lessons you learned from your mentors and how passionate the various employees were when they spoke on why they chose the field they were in. The overall answer is because they love what they do. That very deep passion and love saves lives.
I have worked at several hospitals and no hospital I have had the privilege of working in, represents their mission more than Alameda Hospital. So you all have been able to step into a hospital that truly cares for the lives of others. Cherish the lessons you learned here, and know that whatever path you decide to take in health care is valuable, important, and can make a huge difference in someone’s life.
Thank you!”
-Edward Hinton, 6/1/2017