Lamont Lanfair, a recent recipient of an award recognizing excellence in environmental services (EVS) technicians, credits his success to being a people person.
“If I see someone in need of help in the hospital, even if they’re just lost, I stop what I’m doing and help,” Lanfair said. “I try to monitor the hallways. If someone is having a bad day, I talk to them. I call that doing my job.”
Moving up the EVS ladder
Lanfair, an EVS technician at Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee, was one of 10 EVS workers Cintas Corporation honored with its 2022 Cleaning to Advance the Patient Experience (C.A.P.E.) Award. Lanfair started his career at Froedtert five years ago and currently works as a floor technician. “I maintain the floors and the cleanup of floors in different buildings throughout the hospital, dealing with anything from floods and pest control to biohazard removal,” he explained.
His first position at Froedtert was as a discharger, cleaning patient rooms between occupants. Then he worked as a runner. “The runner is the person responsible when the hospital needs a bed swap in a patient room,” he said. “You take the dirty bed out of the room, then take it through all of the steps to thoroughly clean it.”
Next, Lanfair worked in sanitation, collecting biohazard waste and trash from throughout the hospital. He was in this position during the early days of the pandemic, when there was a lot of uncertainty about how the coronavirus spread. Hospital officials were not sure how to deal with trash and dirty linen from COVID-19 patients, so it was piling up in their rooms.
Lanfair recalled that his supervisor asked him to come up with a plan to remove the trash. He and a co-worker donned personal protective equipment (PPE) and went into the rooms to collect it in crates. “It was the most difficult time in the hospital for me, but I was able to put a plan together and reassure my fellow co-workers I could keep them safe,” Lanfair recalled.
More than a shiny floor
When the position of floor technician became open, Lanfair jumped at the opportunity to apply and believes he has found his niche. “People notice my work to make the floor shine and make the hospital look good. I take pride in that,” he said. “But I’m not just keeping the hospital clean; I’m keeping it safe by removing spills and other slipping hazards. It’s just being aware of my surroundings, so no one is in harm’s way. If a toilet overflows, I’m the first one there.”
Throughout his career progression, Froedtert officials have recognized Lanfair for going beyond his duties to help patients and other staff while maintaining the facility at high standards. But despite the accolades, he has remained humble.
“I had so many excellence awards, but it was just me doing my job and people recognizing me as being helpful,” Lanfair said. “People would say, ‘Hey, this guy did a good deed for me,’ but it was just me being me. I’m a people person and I like to help.”
