Hospital janitors receive low pay, little respect as they risk their lives to limit the spread of the coronavirus.
Luis Padilla, 46, stood in line at McDonald’s, excited to order his free meal. Earlier that week, the chain announced it would give thank you meals to frontline workers battling the coronavirus.
Environmental service workers “are such an integral part of the whole healthcare team,” said Jane Hopkins, executive vice president of Service Employees International Union's Northwest chapter. “In a hospital, they’re just as important as a doctor — they’re just doing a completely different job.” Justo Mejia, 58, has spent 10 years as an environmental service worker at Northridge Hospital Medical Center near Los Angeles. On vacation when coronavirus first hit, Mejia returned to work in mid-March and found himself in the middle of unprecedented chaos.
In a statement, the Northridge Hospital Medical Center said it has"followed CDC guidelines on personal protective equipment from the beginning of this pandemic and we adapt and implement new policies to comply with their recommendations." A spokeswoman declined to address Mejia's comments directly. Padilla, the environmental service tech at LAC+USC, said he’s had the same PPE as nurses and doctors since the pandemic hit.
Like many environmental service workers, he’s nervous about a second, deadlier wave of cases as the country opens back up. If that happens, he hopes people will understand the critical role he and his colleagues play in keeping America safe.He paused and laughed softly. “And we’d love to get hazard pay.”
“As soon as I go in the room, they calm down. I love it. I tell them, ‘I am here to help you,'" said Cepeda, who works in the ICU.
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