A hard-working team of employee volunteers clears Dole VA of snow and ice
Snowfall blanketed the Dole VA campus Thursday, January 9, piling six inches of winter fluff on what has been the 12th snowiest January since 1888.
When Mike Yandel hopped in the driver’s seat of a heavy-duty truck equipped with a hydraulic snow plow, it was 3:00 a.m. and the pathways crisscrossing the facility had all but disappeared.
“Everything was just gone,” said Yandel, who works as a staff carpenter for the Facilities Management Service (FMS).
“The roads, parking lots, sidewalks, stairs, they had all been erased. All you could see were buildings and trees.”
Yandel is one of a team of volunteers that hits the campus in the wee morning hours to clear roadways and walking paths of snow and ice. FMS Chief Brock Sissel said the crew works tirelessly to ensure the safety of all Veterans, their family, and Dole VA staff.
“Without their can-do attitude, the operations of this hospital would be drastically impacted,” Sissel said. “Maintenance Supervisor David Miller ensures everything and everyone are well prepared prior to any and all storm events.”
Other Dole VA employees who volunteer for the snow team (on top of their normal jobs) include Jeremy Davis, Jason Gooch, Ruben Gutierrez, Tim Seiwert, Rufus Anderson, and Avery Keller.
Yandel said the first areas of focus are those ensuring staff can get to work safely and ambulances can access the Emergency Department intake area.
“We first clear the path from the Waterman entrance to the ED, then we clear employee parking alongside Building 61 and behind TLC,” he said.
“Members of the team drive our new Kubota RTVs equipped with snowplows along walkways and sidewalks, and there are others who are out there in the cold with handheld snow shovels clearing stairways and ramps.”
As snow is pushed to the side of roadways, a 50/50 mixture of salt and sand is spread to melt away ice and slush. To keep the facility safe during working hours, this process of plowing, shoveling, and salting continues throughout a very long day, Yandel said.
“Once you start, you keep doing it pretty much all day long to maintain access,” he said. “In really bad weather, we can put in 12-hour shifts. You get tired, for sure, but it’s worth it to keep our services going.”