The housekeeping aids who maintain VA facilities for Veterans and their families are essential to the patient care experience at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). A VA healthcare career as a housekeeping aide means working alongside other Veterans, who make up 85 percent of the housekeeping staff.

Duties

Skills and Knowledge: Incumbent in this position is primarily responsible for the entire range of cleaning responsibilities in the Operating Room, of which all areas are critical areas. He/she is responsible for planning and scheduling his/her work to accomplish daily responsibilities. Incumbent's duties will consist of cleaning the floors, walls, ceilings, and fixtures in the Operating Room Suite using a very rigid cleaning and aseptic techniques to conform to sanitation and infection control standards enforced in these critical areas. Special cleaning procedures at specified frequency intervals are required to accomplish the daily mission of these critical areas. Incumbent is responsible for proper preparation of various chemical solutions for cleaning and maintenance of surfaces throughout the area. Special isolation precautions must be used in the accumulation and removal of trash. Incumbent must be alert to specific instructions, proper mixing, and proper handling of chemicals and solutions used, being ever mindful of applying established techniques and skills acquired from experience in a hospital setting and from classroom training. Incumber will operate powered equipment to include floor scrubbing and polishing machines, industrial type wet-dry vacuum cleaners, carpet shampoo machines, and other machines necessary to accomplish full range of housekeeping duties in a safe manner. Incumbent is responsible for first echelon maintenance of equipment placed in his/her care to include cleaning, replacing of filters and brushes, recharging of batteries, properly storing when not in use, etc. He/she must be alert to malfunction of equipment and report needed repairs to his/her supervisor. In the absence of an adequate work force or in the event of an emergency, incumbent may be assigned a wide variety of cleaning tasks to include vacuuming, dust mopping, we mopping, dusting, polishing, collecting and removing trash from work area; collecting and disposing of contaminated trash; cleaning lavatories, commodes, urinals, refilling various dispensers, depositing soiled linen in linen chutes; cleaning of floors and furniture, etc. Incumbent will perform other related duties as assigned by his/her supervisor and/or Chief/Assistant Chief, Building Management Service. Responsibility: Incumbent is under the direct supervision of the Housekeeping Aid Foreman and the general supervision of the Assistant Chief/ Chief, Building Management Service. He/She performs independently within the framework of a master housekeeping plan and receives assignments to be completed within a specified period of time. Incumbent is expected to plan his/her work accomplish the mission according to initial instructions with occasional guidance from Operating Room Supervisors and in coordination with daily activities in Operating Room Suite. Work is checked periodically for conformance to qualitative and quantitative performance standards. Physical Effort Incumbent must have ability to understand and follow both oral and/or written instructions. He/she is required to perform moderate lifting up to 50 pounds, continuous standing, bending, stooping, walking, climbing of stairs, and pushing during his/her normal tour of duty. He/she may occasionally work on ladders to change drapes, change cubicle curtains, wash walls, etc. Visual acuity must be sufficient for incumbent to see dust, dirt, and cobwebs. Working Conditions Incumbent usually works in a well-lighted, well-heated building with generally favorable working conditions, but may be subjected to disagreeable odors and other environmental conditions prevailing in a GM&S hospital. Incumbent must be alert to safety hazards and must observe and practice safe procedures when using solutions, powered equipment and working with and around contamination that is prevalent in Operating Room settings.

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 03/12/2024. Applicants will be rated in accordance with the OPM Federal Wage System Qualifications. For this position, the job element method is used to match what you, the applicant, can do against what the work calls for. Your knowledge, skills and abilities will be compared to the knowledge, skills and abilities (called job elements) needed for success. Your qualifications will first be evaluated against the prescribed screen out element (WG-2 and higher only; screen-outs are not applicable to WG-1). Applicants who appear to meet the screen out element are considered for further rating; those who do not are rated ineligible and are eliminated from consideration. The potential eligibles are rated against the remainder of the job elements. While a specific length of training and experience is not required, your responses to the questionnaire must be supported by detailed descriptions of your experience on your resume. WG-03: Ability to do the work of a Housekeeping Aid without more than normal supervision. This includes a variety of duties in the maintenance of an aseptically clean environment primarily in the Operating Room; maintaining a safe and sanitary environment for patients; cognizant in the proper use of hazardous chemicals, the guidelines of Universal Precautions, isolation techniques and infection control; uses personal protective gear to protect himself/herself and others from infection and contamination; knowledgeable in medical center fire protection plan and required disaster responses; courteous and helpful to patients, visitors, and fellow staff; thorough knowledge of aseptic techniques to accomplish cleaning duties in critical care areas to meet minimum sanitation standards; knowledge of the collection, transportation, and disposal of regulated medical waste and hazardous waste; ability to understand and follow both oral and written instructions; working cohesively with a wide variety of professional and technical staff. You will be rated on the following Job Elements as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position: Dexterity and SafetyInterpret Instructions, Specifications (other than blueprint reading)Use and Maintain Tools and EquipmentWork Practices Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. PHYSICAL EFFORT: The position demands continuous walking, standing, stooping, kneeling, pulling, and pushing. The work requires the occasional use of heavy powered cleaning equipment (e.g., wall washers, industrial type buffers) weighing over 50 pounds. The duties necessitate considerable dexterity, hand, foot, and eye coordination, and concentration as well as visual acuity to see dirt, dust and debris. WORKING CONDITIONS: Work is normally performed indoors with adequate heat, light, and ventilation. Some work may be performed outdoors where there may be exposed to varying degrees of heat and cold as well as inclement weather. PPE may be required in some circumstance as exposure to possible contagious diseases, blood and bloody secretion are inherent to this position. Care is required to avoid serious injuries (i.e., broken bones) when working on ladders, or when using 30-100-pound power equipment or handling hazardous materials.

Education

Not applicable.

Contacts

• Address William S Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital 2500 Overlook Terrace Madison, WI 53705 US
• Name: Alicia Dougherty
• Phone: 6092561901 X10308
• Email: [email protected]