As thousands of Americans are rolling up their sleeves for COVID-19 vaccinations, Midwest Maintenance is serving at a number of vaccination sites and clinics. At two large-scale vaccination sites in Kansas and Missouri, Midwest Maintenance teams are keeping healthcare workers and vaccine recipients safe.
In eastern Kansas, Midwest Maintenance is the commercial cleaning services provider for more than 40 Stormont Vail Health system medical facilities and clinics. Midwest Maintenance began cleaning and disinfecting the Stormont Vail Events Center in Topeka when it opened as a COVID-19 vaccination distribution site.
“Due to the pandemic, the events center didn’t have the employees to handle this type of cleaning and disinfecting, so we took on that role,” explains Ray Cribbs, a Midwest Maintenance Regional Quality Assurance Manager. “We see anywhere from 600 to a couple thousand people a day when the vaccines are available. We have two day porters and two post-cleaners that clean up at night.”
Keeping People Safe
Formerly known as the Kansas Expocentre, the spacious facility allows plenty of room for people to socially distance in lines as they wait for their vaccination. Midwest Maintenance’s professional cleaning services keep the restrooms and areas open to the public in top shape.
“We help out wherever we can. I think we have made a lot of clients feel a lot safer out there with our disinfecting and just the way our personnel handle things,” Ray says. “People are real appreciative that we help keep their environment safe.”
In serving the extensive Stormont Vail healthcare system in Kansas, Midwest Maintenance’s cleaning and janitorial services has added extra cleaning regimens to prevent COVID-19 and disinfect when any of the medical buildings do care for COVID patients.
“If our customer has a positive COVID case, our team thoroughly wipe downs or uses our Clorox® Total 360® machine to disinfect the area,” Ray states. “We are here to help keep everyone safe. It’s a challenge, but we’re prepared.”
Working with FEMA
In Missouri, Midwest Maintenance is serving another large-scale vaccination site within The Dome at America’s Center in downtown St. Louis. The St. Louis health department selected The Dome as a temporary site, March 20-21, for people needing their second COVID-19 vaccination.
Nick Morris, the General Manager for Midwest Maintenance’s work with America’s Center Convention Complex, assembled a cleaning and disinfecting team for that weekend. “We had a great success with that event. It was nice. It was spacious,” Nick reports.
In part because of the smooth operation of that weekend vaccination event, state and local officials and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) selected The Dome for an eight-week vaccination center. On April 5, Nick and his commercial cleaning services team began serving the healthcare workers and public daily during vaccination hours 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
“We set up everything on our C concourse level. For the first few days the vaccinations were by appointment only, but then they changed to include walk-in people too,” Nick says. “It’s all been running very smoothly.”
Ensuring Access to Vaccinations
The program is projected to vaccinate up to 3,000 people a day through early June. “This special vaccination site enables us to help St. Louis be better protected from COVID-19 by increasing access to life-saving vaccines, particularly for those in the city who are medically at high risk or underserved because they don’t have ready access to healthcare,” said FEMA Region 7 Acting Administrator Kathy Fields. “This effort will go a long way to ensure equitable access to vaccinations.”
The Dome is in proximity to a large number of Missourians at high risk to COVID-19 and with limited access to healthcare and transportation. The site is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act and accessible by public transportation.
Each day, Midwest Maintenance keeps a lead supervisor and three team members continually working in the convention center just a step away for any cleaning and disinfecting needs.
“We clean the restrooms that we have open. We take care of the FEMA office areas and the big area they use as a break room to feed their staff,” Nick explains. “We also spray down areas with our COVID-approved disinfectant. They thank us a lot for what we do.”
Both Ray and Nick are proud of their Midwest Maintenance teams for their flexibility in following COVID-19 protocols and standing strong in helping more Americans get their vaccinations against the widespread virus.
“This opportunity to help with the vaccination site is a good fit for Midwest Maintenance. It’s also great publicity for our convention center client to help the city and the whole state get people vaccinated,” Nick adds. “Our work with this health program is a continuation of showing that Midwest Maintenance plays a huge role in keeping the public customer safe in this facility.”