Healthcare facilities and engineering is a long way of saying “the people who keep everything running.” Often, they’re responsible for making sure everything inside a healthcare facility is running smoothly. In doing so, they’re also responsible for creating a safe environment for everyone who goes through the front door.
What Healthcare Facilities and Engineering Teams Do
Keeping healthcare facilities running smoothly is a big undertaking. These teams handle everything from changing lightbulbs to fixing plumbing leaks to renovating spaces, and everything in between.
Types of Roles
When it comes to healthcare facilities and engineering teams, you may see a wide variety of different job titles. Some of the most common are maintenance technician, maintenance assistant, maintenance director, facilities manager, equipment specialist, and facilities engineer. The job titles can be broad, but the main focus is always making sure the buildings and facilities are running smoothly.
Types of Healthcare Settings
While there are many types of healthcare facilities and engineering jobs, there are just as many different healthcare settings. The largest, and most obvious, setting is hospitals. Some reports even estimate that at least 3 of every 10 healthcare jobs is in a hospital. But, there are many other healthcare settings too consider, too. Other common places for healthcare facilities and engineering teams include rehab centers, doctors offices, clinics, and senior living communities.
Requirements to Join a Healthcare Facilities and Engineering Team
There’s a wide range of facilities and engineering jobs ranging from entry level all the way up to executive leadership roles. That means there’s a variety of possible education and experience requirements. It also means there can be more opportunities for career development and growth.
Education
Most entry level positions only require a high school diploma or GED. Some may even allow for those still in school to get experience before they graduate. As you look at management or leadership roles, you may find that a college degree is required or preferred. However, many companies are willing to consider years of experience in place of formal education.
Experience – Background and Training
At least equally as important as education is experience. Even for entry level positions, such as maintenance assistants, companies want to know that you have experience. Even if you’ve never worked in the field, knowing you at least have experience using tools and that you can use problem solving skills to fix things can go a long way. For more advanced positions, you may need to show that you have experience working in maintenance positions or have received training in skilled trades such as carpentry, electrical, or plumbing.
Healthcare Facilities and Engineering in Senior Living
For senior living, many communities advertise that maintenance is included. Maintenance-free living is a hallmark of senior living, especially for independent living.
There are many things that make a maintenance role in a senior living community unique. For starters, when you work in senior living you may find that you spend most of your day responding to work orders for residents. When their dishwasher breaks or a light bulb goes out, or a smoke detector starts to beep, residents can submit a work order requesting maintenance to come fix it. Just think, it’s much safer for someone on the maintenance team to use a step ladder than it is for an older adult. Plus, you’re taking care of the hassles of home maintenance so they can enjoy their retirement. That’s what senior living is all about.
Beyond the work orders when something is broken, facilities teams in senior living are often responsible for renovations. If there’s an open apartment someone is moving into, you might find yourself changing the carpet, painting the walls, and updating the kitchen. Plus, when someone moves in, you’re there to help them mount things like TVs and shelves and hang their pictures on their walls for them.
Relationships are Key
Spending so much time with residents, it’s easy to form relationships with them. Over time, you’ll learn more than just each other’s names. You’ll hear stories about their lives and their families. You get the chance to bond and form relationships with many of the residents you work with.
Facilities and Engineering at The Ohio Masonic Communities
At The Ohio Masonic Communities, our facilities and engineering teams keep our communities running smoothly from independent living all the way to skilled nursing care. We’re proud of how dedicated our team members are to our residents. They play an important role in the day-to-day of our communities and go above and beyond to make everything great for our residents.
Benefits of Joining our Team
It’s important for us to take care of our team the same way they care for our residents. We want them to have the benefits and tools they need. That’s why we offer $5,000 per year in tuition assistance. The process is simple. We pay the school up front, before classes even begin. Plus, as a nonprofit, our employees can be eligible for student loan forgiveness under Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF).
Are you interested in facilities or maintenance in senior living? Check out current job opportunities at each of our campuses!
Western Reserve Masonic Community
Ready to learn more about the role of facilities or maintenance at The Ohio Masonic Communities? Or how you can join our team? We’d love to hear from you! Give us a call at 1 (877) 881-1623 or contact us here. You can also browse our current job openings here. We have three senior living communities across the state of Ohio – Browning Masonic Community in Waterville, Ohio, Springfield Masonic Community in Springfield, Ohio, and Western Reserve Masonic Community in Medina, Ohio.