Housekeeping Aid

Veterans Health Administration • Bronx, NY

12d • Onsite

About The Position

This position is located within the Environmental Management Services Division of a VA Medical Center and reports directly to the Housekeeping Supervisor or designee. The Housekeeping Aid performs janitorial and custodial services in patient and non-patient care areas, using hand methods and light or heavy-powered cleaning equipment. The position may be assigned to any tour and to various designated areas. Work is generally performed independently with general supervision or as part of a team, with responsibility for the full range of cleaning duties in an assigned area of the medical facility.

Duties include cleaning and maintaining floors, walls, doors, baseboards, stairwells, carpets, restrooms, bathrooms, shower rooms, glass surfaces, and designated smoke areas. The employee empties and transports waste, replenishes dispensers, moves furniture and patient-care items, makes beds, cleans patient-room equipment, and handles soiled and clean textiles. Other duties include cleaning refrigerators, ice machines, cabinets, counters, elevators, fountains, and designated non-critical reusable medical equipment; replacing curtains and cleaning blinds; and cleaning or replacing needle boxes. The employee adjusts, cleans, and performs minor maintenance on cleaning equipment, and may work with and provide guidance to a Compensated Work Therapy worker. Other duties may be assigned.

The schedule is 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Saturday through Wednesday. The work requires continuous walking, standing, stooping, kneeling, pulling, and pushing, and occasional use of heavy-powered cleaning equipment weighing over 50 pounds. Considerable dexterity, coordination, concentration, and visual acuity are required.

No specific length of training or experience is required, but applicants must provide evidence of training or experience sufficient to demonstrate the ability to perform the work. There is no education qualification requirement.

Requirements

• Provide evidence of training or experience of sufficient scope and quality to demonstrate ability to perform the work; no specific length of training or experience is required.
• Demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to perform the position's duties, supported by detailed descriptions on the resume.
• Meet the position's screen-out element and applicable OPM Federal Wage System qualification standards.
• U.S. citizenship is required, except that non-citizens may be appointed when qualified citizens cannot be recruited in accordance with VA policy.
• Be suitable for Federal employment as determined by a background investigation.
• If tentatively selected for a testing-designated position, submit to urinalysis for illegal drug screening; refusal results in denial of employment.
• Males born after December 31, 1959, must meet Selective Service registration requirements.
• Complete the online onboarding process and provide acceptable identification for pre-employment requirements.
• Serve a one-year probationary period and receive written certification for continued employment upon its completion.
• As VA Health Care Personnel, receive an annual seasonal influenza vaccination or obtain a medical or religious exemption; wear a face mask when an exemption is granted.

Responsibilities

• Perform floor maintenance and wash walls, doors, doorframes, baseboard corners and edges, and stairwells using applicable cleaning methods and equipment.
• Vacuum and extract carpets and runners, spot-clean areas, and perform high and low dusting.
• Use pressure washers and heavy industrial powered or battery-operated cleaning equipment; adjust, clean, and perform minor maintenance on equipment and change attachments as needed.
• Empty trash and wastebaskets, replace liners, and transport general refuse, regulated medical waste, and recycling to central collection areas.
• Clean and disinfect restrooms, bathrooms, and shower rooms, including lavatories, showers, bathtubs, urinals, toilet bowls, mirrors, sinks, and water fountains; polish light and toilet fixtures.
• Replenish paper towels, toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and soap in dispensers.
• Move and arrange furniture, patient wardrobes, beds, and other items to complete cleaning tasks.
• Make beds in patient-care areas and operating/OD rooms; clean mattresses, springs, bed frames, bedside stands, over-bed lights, blood pressure cuffs, and bed tables.
• Remove bags of soiled textiles from patient rooms and transport them to designated soiled rooms; load and unload clean textiles, restock textile storage areas and carts, and participate in inventory management.
• Defrost and clean patient-care refrigerators and ice machines in nourishment kitchen areas.
• Clean stainless steel on storage instrument cabinets and counters; clean elevators, ashtrays, smoke stands, sand urns in designated smoke areas, and water fountains.
• Clean windows and window ledges from the inside, glass doors and other glass surfaces; replace curtains and clean blinds.
• Clean and/or replace needle boxes.
• Periodically clean specific non-critical reusable medical equipment in inpatient and clinical areas.
• May work with and provide guidance to a Compensated Work Therapy worker and perform other assigned duties.

Benefits

• Federal employees and their families have access to a comprehensive benefits package; specific benefits depend on position type and should be confirmed with the hiring agency.
• VA may offer newly appointed federal employees credit for qualifying job-related non-federal experience or active-duty uniformed military service when determining annual leave accrual; this must be requested and approved before appointment and is not guaranteed.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Education Level: No Education Listed