Environmental Services Technician

Advocate Health; Milwaukee (WI); On-site; USD 19,000 - 25,000; Full time

Job summary

Advocate Health is seeking a dedicated environmental services worker to maintain clean and safe patient and public areas in a Milwaukee hospital setting.

The role involves cleaning floors, rooms, restrooms, and facilities, operating power scrubbers and carpet cleaners, handling chemicals per MSDS, and assisting with setup for meetings and equipment transport. No formal education is required; on-site work with a focus on safety and patient comfort.

Qualifications

• Ability to operate cleaning equipment and adhere to safety protocols.
• Ability to follow written and oral instructions precisely.
• Capable of working alone while maintaining attention to detail.
• Strong customer service and courteous interaction with staff and visitors.
• Basic computer skills for inventory or scheduling tasks.
• Effective communication with supervisors and team members.

Responsibilities

• Clean furniture, carpets, floors, and surfaces using power equipment.
• Operate cleaning equipment; report safety hazards and repairs.
• Handle chemicals safely and follow MSDS guidelines.
• Set up rooms for meetings and transport audio-visual equipment.
• Maintain cleanliness in patient care areas, restrooms, lobbies, and offices.
• Clean environmental surfaces and manage waste and linens.
• Report mechanical failures to supervisor.

Skills

Equipment operation

Follow instructions

Work independently

Customer service

Basic computer skills

Effective communication

Education

No Formal Education

Tools

Power scrubbers

Carpet cleaners

Waste compactors

Balers

Job description

Major Responsibilities:

• Cleans furniture and carpets in rooms, hallways, stairs, and offices using power equipment. Cleans and maintains floor surfaces with dry and wet mops. Refinishes floors, including machine scrubbing and/or stripping floors and applies floor finish.
• Operates various types of cleaning equipment, both mechanical and electrical. Notifies appropriate person of safety hazards and of equipment needing repair. Cleans equipment, cart, and service closet daily. Assists in cleaning emergency spills as requested.
• Uses chemicals, cleaning products and equipment for their intended purpose to maintain a safe, cost-effective environment. Ensures all cleaning supplies are labeled and references Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) as necessary.
• Sets up rooms for meetings and delivers audio visual equipment to the rooms.
• Cleans patient care areas, public/private restrooms, conference rooms, lobbies, offices, elevators, and stairwells. Performs scheduled terminal and project cleaning in surgical areas.
• Cleans all environmental surfaces including ceilings and vents, walls, doors, furniture, beds, bathroom fixtures, and windows. Dusts and mops floors in patient and exam rooms, corridors, stairwells, restrooms, and other areas of the facility.
• Gathers and disposes recyclables, trash, and medical waste. Collects hazardous trash following established infection control guidelines.
• Sorts, stocks and delivers linens. Gathers and prepares soiled linen for transportation. Inventories linens, cleaning supplies and paper supplies and orders additional in a timely and cost effective manner. Fills and cleans supply dispensers. Replaces cubicle drapes and window coverings.
• Cleans and prepares dismissal and transfer units and certain equipment used in the care of patients and distributes non‑medical supplies to specific areas.
• Reports any mechanical failures or unsafe conditions to the supervisor.

Licensure, Registration, and/or Certification Required:

• None Required.

Education Required:

• No Formal Education.

Experience Required:

• No experience required.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities Required:

• Ability to operate various types of cleaning equipment, including machine scrubbers, carpet cleaners, waste compactors, balers, etc.
• Ability to follow and understand oral and written instructions and communicate with others.
• Ability to work alone and to understand the physical arrangements of the facilities.
• Performs tasks without disrupting operations of the doctors, nurses, patients, public, and other staff.
• Ability to set priorities, be aware of and follow department policies and procedures in all situations.
• Basic computer skills.
• Excellent customer service skills.

Physical Requirements and Working Conditions:

• Must be able to:
• lift up to 50 lbs. from floor to a maximum 5 ft.
• lift and carry up to 30 lbs. at waist height a reasonable distance.
• Must be able to:
• push/pull up to 50 lbs. with the assistance of other staff and/or devices.
• Must have ability to bend, stoop, kneel, climb stairs, reach above shoulders and crawl to complete tasks.
• Must also be able to shovel and spread salt or sand on snow, so will be exposed to outside temperatures and weather conditions as necessary.
• Must have ability to walk or stand the majority of the shift.
• Must have ability to wear protective clothing as will have exposure to strong germicidal solutions, cleaning chemicals, temperature changes, soiled linen, infectious waste (blood and body fluids). Requires that incumbent be familiar with policies on handling infectious and hazardous waste.
• Must have ability to safely operate power cleaning equipment such as machine scrubbers or carpet cleaners as well as non‑power cleaning equipment and ladders telescoping up to 20 feet.
• Operates all equipment necessary to perform the job, including telephones, zone phones, and pagers.

This job description indicates the general nature and level of work expected of the incumbent. It is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities required of the incumbent. Incumbent may be required to perform other related duties.