Staff members recognized by Memorial Health System of ET

LUFKIN, TEXAS - Memorial Health System of East Texas thanked the men and women on the housekeeping staff during National Housekeepers Week, September 10-14.

Housekeepers play a very integral role within the hospital. They help keep patients and their families safe and healthy by maintaining a clean environment. Housekeepers not only keep the hospital clean, they aid in providing 5-star service.

"The vital work a hospital does would not be possible without the invaluable work of our housekeepers," stated Bryant Krenek, CEO of Memorial Health System of East Texas. "They are a key element in keeping our day to day operations running smoothly; for that, we say thank you."

There are more than 58 housekeepers within the Memorial Health System.

This week, Memorial Health System of East Texas will be recognizing Certified Surgical Technicians during National Surgical Tech Week, September 16-22.

Certified Surgical Techs work with surgeons and nurses in the operating rooms. They must have knowledge of instruments used during surgery, surgery equipment, sterile technique, and how to set up and scrub surgery cases. Their duties include pulling supplies for surgery cases, opening supplies, and scrubbing surgery cases. Surgical techs also are responsible for maintaining sterile technique, monitoring their sterile field, passing the surgeons instruments, setting up and breaking down cases, and cleaning and sterilizing instruments.

Surgical techs may have little contact with patients while they are awake, but the techs' role in the operating room is vital to patient care. "Our Surgical techs are a vital role in the surgery process," said Marilyn Phillips, Director of Surgical Services. "Without our Surgical techs, we would not be able to maintain the high level of care we are able to provide our patients."

As the largest health care system in the deep East Texas area, Memorial Health System of East Texas is a private, not-for-profit hospital that provides care to almost 80,000 patients each year. Since its inception in 1949, Memorial Health System has paved the way for quality, innovative health care in East Texas. In fact, Memorial consistently ranks among the nation's best for exceptional health care and patient satisfaction.

A 234 bed acute care facility, Memorial offers a wide array of services, including the newly renovated Arthur Temple, Sr. Regional Cancer Center, which has earned a three-year seal of approval with commendation from the Commission on Cancer. Additionally, Memorial is a regional cardiac care center affiliated with the Methodist-DeBakey Heart Center in Houston. The hospital also is known for providing the area's only comprehensive diabetes center-The Horace C. Polk Regional Diabetes Center. Other centers of excellence include the Temple Imaging Center that offers some of the most advanced procedures in the area, including PET/CT scanning, 64 Slice CT scanning, Open Bore MRI, and digital mammography. The System also is home to the Memorial Specialty Hospital, one of only two rural long-term acute care facilities. Other specialty areas include Women's Services, Inpatient and Outpatient Rehabilitation, Homecare, Wound and Hyperbaric Therapy, Kidney & Diabetes Treatment, Sleep Disorders Treatment, and Express Lab. Memorial Health System of East Texas-founded and funded by the people it serves.