Danny Harris
Janitor
St. Luke’s Health System, Sioux City

If heroes are those with incredible heart, soul and vigor, no one is more of a Hospital Hero than Danny Harris.  As an Environmental Services employee in the St. Luke’s surgical area, Danny demonstrates all of the values St. Luke’s upholds and promotes.  If someone asks Danny about his role at St. Luke’s, he is likely to say he “runs surgery.”  And in fact, there’s some truth to that.

His tireless efforts to ensure patients and staff have access to a safe, clean environment are nothing short of remarkable, as Danny has long been known to get on his hands and knees and use a small brush to clean out the cracks and crevices in the hospital’s surgical suites.  On a nightly basis, Danny takes pride in waxing the surgical unit’s floors, changing cubicle curtains and cleaning the area from ceiling to floor, all by himself.  His work philosophy says it all: Danny ensures he does his job the right way, the first time around, every time.

Even more inspiring is that fact that since Danny began his career at St. Luke’s 38 years ago, he has never missed a day of work. Only a true hero can say they’ve worked more than 13,800 consecutive days.

In the brief, free moments Danny has, he enjoys painting by numbers, creating amazing works of art that have put many smiles on the faces of hospital visitors and staff who have had the opportunity to view his artwork.

“Danny’s work speaks volumes about our values of integrity, compassion, accountability, respect and excellence, helping St. Luke’s achieve our mission to improve the health of Siouxland,” says Peter Thoreen, President and CEO of St. Luke’s Health System.  “I do not believe you will find someone with more heart than Danny. We are very fortunate individuals like him have chosen to dedicate themselves to health care.”