Cleaning company disinfects nursing home at no charge

After one Norton nursing home made national headlines last month following a COVID-19 outbreak in its facilities, the owner of a Topeka-based cleaning company stepped up to help.

Travis Hansen, owner of Topeka-based Bio-One, reached out to Andbe Home in Norton last month after news that the coronavirus had infected more than 60 residents there and a few dozen staff members, resulting in about a dozen deaths.

Hansen called the nursing home to offer his cleaning services for free. And that call came at just the right time, according to Megan Mapes, Andbe Home administrator, as she was being bombarded with calls from other cleaning companies looking to sell her their products.

Mapes said Hansen’s “caring approach” struck a chord with her.

“It was not a salesman approach but more of a ‘what can I do to help you?’ ” Mapes said.

She helped coordinate a date for Hansen and his team to come by, and on Nov. 4, Hansen and two of his employees made the nearly 10-hour round trip to and from Norton to volunteer their time.

“We had some places to disinfect after the election and stuff, so that’s why we chose (that day),” Mapes said.

Hansen and his team left Topeka about 5 a.m. that Wednesday. After arriving at Andbe Home, they spent several hours disinfecting all of the facility’s common areas.

“We used a chemical that’s on the (Environmental Protection Agency) N list for treating COVID,” Hansen said. “The one we used we like because it’s food and animal and human friendly. ... We used a combination of spraying it and wiping it, and then, we also have multiple foggers which spray a very, very fine mist out that can cover a lot of area.”

According to Hansen, it felt good to do the work. He felt strongly about offering it for free because his grandmother had been a resident of Andbe Home a couple of years ago.

“My grandma had lived there for many years,” he said. “It was just kind of our way of paying them back for taking such good care of her.”

The service offered by Bio-One could have cost up

to $20,000 at a paid gig, Hansen said. But he didn’t even come up with a bid because his mind was set on doing what it took to get the facility clean.

“Our motto is ‘help first, business second,’ ” Hansen said.

And he has proven that several times, having offered a similar deal to a few Topeka-area bars, including Abigail’s Grill & Bar, Specks Bar and Grill and the Brass Rail Tavern.

Mapes said she and her staff were grateful for Hansen’s support.

“I just really appreciate what they did for us,” she said. “It was very nice to have the positivity and support that we’ve gotten from our own community and from him being willing to come all the way from Topeka to do this service for us.”

India Yarborough, The Topeka Capital-Journal