Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) has switched to a new housekeeping provider, effectively laying off about 22 housekeeping staff employed through Aramark at Sunshine Coast health facilities. However, the new contractor wants to hire back as many staff members as possible.
According to Saira Husain, corporate communications manager with Crothall Healthcare, a member of the Compass Group, which now holds the contract with VCH, Crothall wants to keep existing staff who wish to remain in their current positions on the Coast and elsewhere within VCH.
“We are planning onsite interviews the week of March 9, and these will run until the end of March at the various locations,” Husain told Coast Reporter in an emailed statement this week. “We also have set up a website for current Aramark employees to visit for more information on Crothall and our job opportunities. Conditional job offers will be presented starting in April.”
Viola Kaminski, public affairs officer with VCH, said Aramark has provided the majority of housekeeping services in VCH since 2004; however, their contract was set to expire in September and it could not be extended.
“Compass was ultimately chosen after a multi-stage, 18-month procurement process,” Kaminski said. “Our agreement with them includes a wide range of services that have the potential to help reduce hospital acquired infections, improve patient flow and cater to site-specific residential care needs, while the contract price also included significant value-adds that are not included in our current contract, such as the addition of the equivalent of 56 more full-time staff members.”
