VCH is issuing a warm welcome to the Facilities Maintenance & Operations (FMO) staff who do the maintenance and utility management for all of our owned buildings, including hospitals and selected outpatient centres and residential care sites.

Past and present management

The Facilities Maintenance & Operations excluded management team was previously part of the Fraser Health-led Lower Mainland Facilities Management. But VCH and Fraser Health have agreed that the service should be transferred to VCH and will now become part of the Lower Mainland Business Initiatives Shared Services, a VCH-led team.

This move will strengthen linkages between staff and leaders at the various VCH sites with the FMO staff and the important and timely work they provide.

Who’s on the FMO team?

There are some 26 excluded management staff (until recently Fraser Health employees) and more than 170 frontline staff (always VCH employees) providing the facilities maintenance and operations services across our organization. The frontline staff work in 31 VCH operated and contracted sites providing services, ranging from electrical and plumbing support to grounds keeping and general maintenance. They are currently unionized VCH employees and will remain as such through this process.

Moving forward

For most staff, the transition won’t be noticeable and it will be business as usual when it comes to requesting services from facilities management.  But over the coming weeks, we will be consulting with all of the facilities management staff to learn how best we might improve the services they provide.