Staff Spotlight: Jessyka Bryan – Environmental Services (EVS)
April 10, 2025
“SMH is kind of like a home. We take care of our own.”
At Stevenson Memorial Hospital, cleanliness is more than just appearances—it’s a critical part of patient safety, infection prevention, and the overall care experience. The Environmental Services (EVS) team is at the heart of this mission, and team members like Jessyka Bryan exemplify the dedication, resilience, and compassion it takes to do the job well.
“I am in the EVS Housekeeping department, and I have been working at Stevenson for four years,” Jessyka shares. In that time, she has played a key role in maintaining the cleanliness of every area of the hospital—from Med-Surg and OB to the Emergency Department.
“Typically, our day starts by communicating with each other, and we grab our cloths and mops and head upstairs to the area we’re supposed to go clean, and then we start cleaning those set areas,” she explains. "Our task sheet takes a good amount of time to complete, and between discharges, we can take a little longer to get those areas done. In the afternoon, there isn’t much difference, but it can get a lot busier depending on how many calls we get from the emergency department and medical-surgical discharges."
It’s detailed, demanding work—and it requires constant attention to safety. “We’re going in and making sure that all areas of the hospital are clean. If someone has C. diff for example, we make sure we use a specific type of chemical to ensure it doesn’t spread throughout the hospital. We’re making sure that the rooms are clean so that when a new patient comes in, they’re not getting more sick and that a new illness doesn’t spread throughout the whole hospital.”
While protocols have evolved since the peak of COVID-19, EVS team members continue to follow strict measures to protect both themselves and patients. “Things have changed since COVID-19; things have mellowed down – not a lot, but a bit. But there isn’t as much ‘gown up–gown down,’ and if a patient has COVID, it’s important that you’re protecting yourself as much as you're protecting them…We’re still taking extra steps to ensure that if one patient comes in with an illness such as the flu, the illness isn’t going to spread to other patients in the hospital.”
Despite the demands of the job, Jessyka finds joy in the human connections she makes each day. “I like everything about my role at Stevenson. You come in and meet different people in Med-Surg and OB. I had a woman talk to me about her cat in Med-Surg and we talked for about 15–20 minutes about our cats. It’s nice to come in and chat with different people all the time, especially being in the hospital—people can feel lonely, and there are lots of stories to learn.”
For Jessyka, the EVS department isn’t just a workplace—it’s a community. “I was on leave for several months and while I was away, I had my team members call me to check up on me, and I was always so grateful for their calls. I think the EVS department is incredible at what they do, and it’s going to be awesome to see the growth in our department.”
She’s also quick to note that EVS work isn’t for the faint of heart. “EVS is a hard job, it has its easier days, but there are more hard days than easier days. If someone does want to work in EVS, I think they need to understand that it’s not like cleaning a house or a hotel; it’s a totally different environment. In OB, for example, you need to make sure everything is clean and germ-free because you’re bringing a fresh life into the world – and it's hard work.”
Jessyka’s perspective was further shaped when her husband was hospitalized at a larger facility after a serious car accident. “It gave me a different perspective of how we clean and we take care of patients here, versus a larger hospital – it wasn’t the same… It was nice to see how we all take care of each other here, compared to other facilities where it was ‘I’m not their nurse, but let me go find a nurse for you.’ We heard a lot of that there. Whereas at Stevenson, it's ‘I’m not your nurse, but how can I help you?’”
Whether she’s disinfecting a room, chatting with a patient, or lending a hand to the kitchen team, Jessyka brings heart to every part of her job. “We work with the kitchen a lot, where if we notice they need help bringing carts down or if they need help collecting trays, we help them with that too, and they help us as much as they can too.”
Her words say it best: “SMH is kind of like a home. We take care of our own, and we’re here to help each other.”
Thank you, Jessyka, for all that you do and for being such a valuable part of the Stevenson family.