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RiverView Health has 300+ employees, so when a director declares, “I don’t think there is a person at RiverView that works harder…’’, you take notice. Who is that hard worker? Janell Thordarson, lead for Environmental Services (EVS) and February’s Employee of the Month.

Janell began her RiverView career almost 20 years ago in the kitchen, where she worked as the head cook for eight years before joining the EVS Team.

“I love being a part of our EVS Team,’’ she shared. “We do save lives and make our facility a safe place for our patients and staff. I see many interactions with our patients; the kindness is everywhere.’’

Growing up in Lake Bronson, MN, Janelle graduated from Karlstad, MN. She lived in Hamilton, ND, before settling in Crookston over 22 years ago. She and her husband have seven children, 12 grandchildren, and grandchild #13 coming this summer.

Janell and her husband enjoy gardening, flowers, yard work, and spending time with their children and grandchildren.

Of her honor, she said: “I feel blessed to be Employee of the Month. Thank you, Jen (Tate), Ashley (Cameron), and Matt (Johnson), for your kind words. I respect our leaders and the hard work they do. I love my job, and I have a great leader to follow. I am proud to be a part of our RiverView Team.’’

Below are just a few of the comments made in Janell’s honor:

…She is constantly striving for an infection free environment for our patients and our staff... Janell jumps in to help in whatever role is needed…Whenever I think of high Standards, she comes to mind.

It isn’t often a director gets to say they work with a team member that changes the world around them. Janell Thordarson is that employee. Janell is the leader of changes in our department. When we made the move to our new location, she was on board right away. She made sure to point out all the positives and I feel the rest of the team followed her lead. Her positivity and big picture thinking drove that move and made the transition smooth.

She motivates everyone on the EVS team to work hard and have pride in what we do. She takes the success of the EVS team on her shoulders. She takes pride in the strides the EVS department has taken to improve and I feel she is a big driver in those improvements.

I feel completely confident she will always do what is best for our patients, visitors and employees.

I don’t think there is a person at RiverView that works harder than Janell. She seeks knowledge and is a lifelong learner. She has taken what she learned in LEAN Boot Camp and made our department more productive. She is T-CHEST – Trainer of Certified Health Care Environmental Services Technician program. This is a huge accomplishment as there are only seven representatives in greater Minnesota.

Janell leads by example by never asking our team to do anything she wouldn’t do herself.

She has changed her schedule and now splits her shifts so she can be here in the morning to catch anything that needs to be addressed immediately. She then goes home for a few hours and comes back so we have late coverage for any issues that come up during the day. I don’t know many employees that would be willing to do that.

She grows every day in her leadership.

She makes me a better leader. She holds me accountable and has this incredible ability to calm me down. I respect her opinions and look to her for insight on issues. She is the total package.

Janell is an amazing team member at RiverView. When I think of someone meeting the categories of our Standards, she is at the top of the list.

She constantly goes above and beyond with training staff, completing emergency work orders, and making sure our patients have the best environment for healing. She works well not only with her own team, but also with all the other teams in the facility as well.

Her dedication to the job and constant care for patients and team members is second to none.