Union is Herman’s house

LYNN – Herman Cordy truly loves his job.As an Environmental Services Supervisor at Union Hospital, Cordy, as he likes to be called, has been employed for almost half a century at the hospital and still looks forward to each new day at work.Having started his career in 1958 as a housekeeper making $1.50 an hour, Cordy, 74, has worked his way up over the years and has become a well-known and well-liked character in the halls of the hospital.A Lynn resident, Cordy is married to Karen, a former nurse at the hospital and is the father of two grown children.”It just feels good to work here and I have a lot of friends at the hospital,” he said. “My son and my daughter used to work here and I met my second wife here too. My friend Phil who works at the hospital was even my best man.”Cordy oversees 46 housekeepers and is responsible for making sure every part of the hospital is in tip-top shape and up to the standards of the Joint Commission, which accredits and certifies more than 15,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States. He also performs daily inspections of the hospital and surveys patients to see where improvements can be made.It is not all work and no play, according to Cordy, who said his relationships with friends at the hospital have left him with a lifetime of good memories.”Oh, we used to all meet up outside of work every night,” he said with a big smile. “We had a bowling league, a baseball team, tennis, golf team and we played poker too. All the nurses used to play against the doctors?but nowadays, people don’t have time for things like that.”Cordy said his days at the hospital began after a hospital administrator offered him a job after he got out of the Army.”I was working part-time at a car wash and had to pay a bill at the hospital with my last check from the Army,” he said. “The administrator said he was so impressed that I paid a bill by signing over a check, that he offered me a job, and I’ve been there ever since.”Still after all of the years of rising early and working hard, Cordy said he wouldn’t dream of retiring.”My wife is always trying to get me to retire, but if I did, I’d probably go to pieces,” he said. “Working here keeps my brain moving and makes the time go by fast.”Still going strong after having worked half a century, Cordy said the key is to take time with each task and not to rush.”You know, even though I’ve been here a long time, I still move faster than some of the young people that work here,” he quipped. “There’s nothing better than getting a job done and getting it done right.”That pride is recognized daily by patients and employees of the hospital alike, including Director of Environmental Services at Union, Bob Hermance.”Cordy builds excellent relationships with his staff and is a great motivator,” he said. “His job involves an understanding of infection control, Joint Commission Standards and patient safety. There’s a lot more to housekeeping than one might think and Cordy is very good at what he does.”