Vanderbilt Medical Center to have nurses cleaning up – WFSB 3 Connecticut

NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) –

Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s latest budget moves mean nurses will be responsible for a lot more than patient care.

The Channel 4 I-Team has learned some Vanderbilt nurses will now be in charge of cleaning patients’ rooms, even bathrooms.

Sanitized environments in hospitals are critical to a patient’s health, but the new cost cutting measure has at least one nurse concerned.

“Cleaning the room after the case, including pulling your trash and mopping the floor, are all infection-prevention strategies. And it’s all nursing, and it’s all surgical tech. You may not believe that, but even Florence Nightingale knew that was true,” said a hospital administrator to staff in a video obtained by the Channel 4 I-Team.

The new cleaning changes were also detailed in an email sent to staff of the Vanderbilt Medical Center East team, (Read More)