Connect

This is the latest installment in our Connect article series “Hope at Work” — showcasing inspiring stories about how our team members contribute to UVA Health’s 10-year strategic plan: “One Future Together Health and Hope for All.” No matter where you work, you have an opportunity to inspire hope in others. These stories show how:

This Healthcare Environmental Services Week — Sept. 14-20, 2025 — we take a closer look at unsung heroes of patient care: UVA Health Environmental Services teams at our three medical centers in Northern Virginia.

Essential Force

When patients walk into our medical centers — they are met with a clean, welcoming environment that inspires confidence in the care they will receive. That exceptional level of cleanliness and safety is the result of the tireless effort of Environmental Services (EVS) teams at UVA Health Culpeper, Prince William, and Haymarket Medical Centers. They are an essential force that keeps our locations safe and healthy, supports our clinical teams, and directly impacts patient experience and quality ratings.

Backbone of Patient Care

Nearly 120 team members-strong across the three medical centers — EVS works with a shared mission: “To provide a safe and healing environment for our patients while supporting our clinical teams to deliver the best possible patient care,” says Dayan Sangha, Director of EVS for Crothall Hospital Services, UVA Health’s service partner. 

EVS includes housekeeping, operating room, patient care, floor, linen, and trash technicians, along with management. “EVS is responsible for sanitizing and disinfecting at each facility,” explains Dayan. “Our tasks range from ensuring our public spaces — lobbies, waiting areas, and restrooms — are safe and welcoming, to the daily disinfection of our occupied patient rooms.”  

Dayan also says the Emergency Department is a priority as patient volume calls for fast and efficient disinfection to prevent hospital-acquired infections. EVS also supports disinfecting operating suites every day using a manual disinfection process as well as UV sterilization.

This level of diligence not only keeps patients safe, but helps clinical team members focus on providing high quality care. By ensuring that patient rooms are turned over quickly and thoroughly, EVS also plays a direct role in patient experience, flow, and satisfaction.

Pivotal Role

Cleanliness is a major component of patient safety and experience. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) star ratings reflect this, measuring factors such as infection prevention and patient experience based on patient feedback. Hospitals that score high in cleanliness typically see better overall ratings — which can influence reputation, occupancy rates, team member recruitment and retention, and financial performance. 

We are motivated by “the understanding that EVS teams play a pivotal role in the health and healing of our community members and their loved ones,” Dayan explains. “We do not provide direct care, but we support essential functions of the hospital. We also bring joy and comfort to our patients and families in daily interactions.”

EVS finds that recruiting the right people remains a challenge. “Working in healthcare is a calling not everyone is suited for,” Dayan says. “We are responsible for maintaining the cleanliness of the facility, but also for providing excellent service to our patients, visitors, and team members.” 

Ivonne Mendoza, Assistant Director of EVS, UVA Health Culpeper Medical Center, adds that adapting to new cleaning technologies — such as mobile devices used for tracking and reporting — is another hurdle. Even so, the EVS team keep patient safety and care at the forefront. “We are glad and proud to have a team that’s compassionate and puts the needs of our patients above all else,” Ivonne shares proudly.

Earning Acclaim

Recently, the EVS team’s unwavering commitment to cleanliness earned national recognition as Becker’s Hospital Review, a leading publication in the healthcare industry, named UVA Health Haymarket Medical Center one of the cleanest hospitals in the United States. The list features 374 hospitals nationwide that earned a rating of five stars for cleanliness, based on the Five-Star Rating System created by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Cleanliness plays a critical role in CMS ratings, which evaluate hospitals on patient care, experience, and safety.

The five-star CMS cleanliness rating and national recognition for UVA Health Haymarket Medical Center are a testament to the skill and consistency of these professionals. For the EVS team, the reward is more personal. “These ratings clearly demonstrate the dedication and hard work of EVS teams nationwide,” says Camille White, Director, EVS, UVA Health Haymarket Medical Center. “Their compassion for our patients, meticulous attention to detail and strong commitment to infection prevention are crucial for providing safe, high quality care daily. They are indeed unsung heroes of healthcare.”

Premier Provider

“Supporting our patients and team members — that’s what drives us,” Ivonne says. “We aim to be recognized as the premier provider of high quality, customer-focused support services.”

UVA Health EVS teams may operate behind the scenes, but their impact is visible throughout our facilities: in the shine of the hospital floor, the safety of an operating room, and the peace of mind of every patient who comes for care. For these team members, cleanliness is much more than a job — it’s a calling. 

Earlier this year, Connect's Hope at Work series featured the EVS team at UVA Health University Medical Center. This Healthcare Environmental Services Week and year-round, thank you to all EVS team members for everything they do to support one future together of health and hope for all!