Keeping hospital clean job of every Dallas VA employee

Dallas VA is a busy… and very clean… place.  

With 100 acres of real estate, dozens of buildings and a steady, daily flow of some 6,000 employees, patients and visitors traversing campus parking lots, pathways, entrances and hallways, regular cleaning is essential. Because wear and tear and errant trash happen, the daily responsibility of keeping the robust acreage clean is collectively owned by every North Texas VA employee.

It’s not unusual to see several jeans-and-VA-polo-shirt-wearing medical center executives gloved up and wielding trash bags for collecting discarded gum wrappers, tissues and coffee cups.

“I wanted to show our employees and patients that I wouldn’t ask them to do anything I wouldn’t do myself,” said Jason Cave, medical center director, who leads a regular contingent of his senior leaders on litter gathering in several areas of the sprawling Dallas campus.

Pictured above left to right are North Texas leaders Philip Day, Dr. Jeffrey Hastings, Eric Jacobsen, Andrew Morrison, Jason Cave and Dr. Raul Rivera.

A recent litter session focused on less visible areas of the campus, including high-use logistics loading docks and parking garages that see steady use and traffic 24 hours a day. Recent storms and damaging winds necessitated the filling of several large trash bags, happily collected by senior leaders and executive office staff.

Important to show pride in where you work

“It’s important to show pride in where you work, and I know our Veterans appreciate it,” said Dr. Jeffrey Hastings, chief of staff and regular litter picking-up participant.

Though it may seem like a small detail amid providing health care to 250,000 patients each year, maintaining a hospitable and welcoming healing environment from the parking lot to the clinical treatment room is essential in building the trust and confidence of Veterans and the public.

“As leaders, we create the roadmap for the rest of the team to follow and to honor the service of our patients, and our actions as VA employees must be service focused,” said Cave. “Every North Texas VA employee has a stake in maintaining our high standards of care.”

For long-time employee and executive assistant Philip Day, taking time out from a busy daily schedule to pick up trash is rewarding and personal. “I want to keep this hospital as clean as I would my own home. Our Veterans have earned this experience.”