JHAH and Saudi Aramco Community Celebrates Hardworking JHAH Housekeeping Unit

On December 19, Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare (JHAH) and the Saudi Aramco community and Dhahran Women’s Group (DWG) celebrate JHAH’s Housekeeping Department. JHAH Chief Executive (CE) Dr. Michael Walsh and JHAH’s executive management hosted the fifth celebratory event for the center’s housekeeping  in Dhahran.

Also present at the event were high-contributing Saudi Aramco community members: Leading community philanthropist Mrs. Munirah Al Ashgar, Andrea Matza, Vice-Principal of SAES Dhahran Middle School, accompanied by members of the Junior Honors Society; Basma Hamad, President of Dhahran Women's  Group; members of the Dhahran Women’s Group (DWG), and representatives of other community groups including the Boy Scouts. Alison Hooker of the DWG coordinated the appreciation project.

JHAH CE, Dr. Walsh shared his admiration and appreciation to the unit’s staff

JHAH’s Chief Nursing Officer, Hani Ayyad, portrayed the integral role that housekeeping and custodial staff play in the day-to-day provision of care by saying,  "I’d like to thank all of you on behalf of all JHAH Nurses, we cannot take care of our patients without you, our unsung heroes who deserve the praise. Your hard work and dedication in the cleanliness of our hospital is among the highest scores in the JHAH patient Satisfaction surveys.”

Also acknowledging the invaluable contribution of the Housekeeping and custodial team at JHAH, Alison Hooker, a longtime active member of the DWG, addressed the team by stating that “You may often feel invisible, but we know the essential work you continue to perform quietly in the background day by day,” Adding that “As a community, we want to honor your work and the sacrifices you have made as you helped keep our hospital and community safe.”

Mrs. Hooker also passed on a message from Mrs. Amin Nasser, who was unable to attend. She wished to greet and thank all involved in making today’s appreciation event possible and show her appreciation for all the hard work done by the Housekeeping staff at JHAH. No celebration could be complete without a show of appreciation. So 545 personalized gifts provided by Dhahran Middle School the staff, pupils and their families as well as families from the Saudi Aramco Dhahran and Ar-Rabiah communities were gifted to the Dhahran team and will also be distributed to the JHAH Housekeeping units in Ras Tanura, Abqaiq, ‘Udhailiya, and Al-Hasa. 

Dr. Walsh closed the event by reinforcing the importance of combining our efforts for the greater good “Thank you to all the various community groups,” he stated,  “we are all a community working together in these difficult times of fighting a global pandemic.”

With this celebration, the heroes in the background who keep us safe and protected can shine, feel seen, and appreciated.