DALTON, Ga. (November 19, 2025) – A group of Hamilton Medical Center (HMC) Environmental Services employees recently received advanced training and certification in cleaning and disinfecting. Two groups of Environmental Services employees have already graduated with their certification.
Certified employees include: Mohammed Belhaj, Merlin Hernandez, Gloria Paniagua, Pricilla Pluff, Samantha Sixto-Cortez and Rita Staten.
The Certified Health Care Environmental Services Technician (CHEST) certification reflects HMC’s ongoing commitment to the highest level of service, quality and care for its patients and equips technicians by providing advanced training in proper cleaning, disinfecting and preventing infection in health care environments.
“Achieving this certification is another way Hamilton shows commitment to safety and excellence,” said Amy Carroll, Infection Prevention specialist. “The Environmental Services technicians play a critical role in infection prevention, and this training supports them in delivering a safe and clean environment for patients and staff.”
The training covers infection prevention and control, effective communication and decision-making, best practices for selecting the right equipment and disinfectants, how to disinfect patient rooms, extra steps to take in isolation rooms or waste streams, the patient experience impact of the cleaning and disinfecting process, team problem-solving, and special considerations.
The training goes beyond standard cleaning procedures and delves into advanced disinfecting in different situations, specialty areas and isolation rooms, all while guiding participants toward industry best practices and exceeding standard cleaning.