What Does the General Services Department Do?

Heritage's General Services Director, Dianne Blackett, is used to having to explain what her department does. With such a "general" title, this department seems more mysterious than what it really is. Dianne was kind enough to share with us some of the history of the department as well as their current responsibilities.

Many years ago, when Heritage first started, General Services was the catch-all department that was assigned everything that did not fit anyplace else. This included

• maintenance
• couriers and transportation
• student money
• admission intake and searches
• shopping, groundskeeping
• housekeeping
• recreational therapy.

There was no title that covered all these areas, so General Services was it. No other name has ever seemed to fit. Over the years, Heritage grew and became more specialized, moving many of these areas to their own departments.

Today, General Services coordinates student transportation. Whether to a medical appointment or the airport, the courier team is trained on safety and supervision for all possible scenarios. They complete all direct care training and complete a defensive driving class.

General Services and Laundry share this building

The couriers also are trained to recognize and intercept contraband. This is very difficult as trends and patterns are constantly changing. New games, books, and fashions keep up on our toes. You wouldn’t believe some of the things that come through the inventory office. It sure makes our job interesting.

The couriers are able to take students off campus shopping when they earn that privilege. This provides an opportunity to have a fun activity one-on-one that is unique to their position. It is instrumental in the formation of positive relationships, which is one of the reasons we choose to work at Heritage.

Accompanying the students to medical appointments presents its own set of challenges and rewards. Once again, the couriers are able to have time with the students, helping them through these anxious situations. We know we cannot take the place of their parents, but our goal is to treat them with the same respect and sensitivity as if they were our own. Some of these appointments can be rather embarrassing for the students, but the couriers have talked them through and remained discrete and professional.

We take one or more students off campus every day for something and our team of ten couriers does an awesome job of managing schedules, keeping students safe, and forming healthy relationships.