It’s always inspiring to see someone take a lot of pride in their work.

Some people simply go to work, do what they have to do every day, collect a check and don’t really care much about their job. There’s nothing wrong with that, but loving your job makes working a lot more fun.

Terry Blankenship of the housekeeping staff at the Commonwealth Regional Specialty Hospital at The Medical Center loves his job. Blankenship, of Bowling Green, is a 13-year veteran of the housekeeping staff at the hospital.

Blankenship is normally scheduled to work from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., but he regularly exceeds those hours in his quest for cleanliness. Blankenship says he sometimes works 10 or 11 hours making sure everything is clean.

On Aug. 31, Blankenship was asked to join a crowd gathered near the administrative offices on the sixth floor of the hospital. Blankenship responded, “Do I have to?” Those who know Blankenship knew he would have preferred to continue working on his rooms on the sixth floor rather than join a crowd. But Blankenship went anyway and was met with a huge surprise: He became the first Commonwealth Health Corp. employee in Bowling Green to win the Patient Safety Award from the Kentucky Hospital Association.

This was a very special moment for Blankenship. He really is a true asset to the housekeeping staff.

Blankenship’s attention to detail and work ethic are key reasons why the long-term acute care unit has made notable progress in preventing what are called hospital-acquired infections. Due in large part to Blankenship’s meticulous approach to his job, the specialty hospital is more than meeting its safety standards. On follow-up tests to check for bacteria, the sixth floor routinely grades above 90 percent while other floors are in the 75-percent range.

Blankenship performs a very important role at The Medical Center. He really loves his job, which says a lot about him. We are proud of the job he’s doing and commend him on receiving this award from the hospital. It was well deserved.