Focus: Environmental Services

Hospital's housekeepers quitting over coronavirus safety issues

Environmental services workers say they are cleaning coronavirus rooms without proper gear


At least four housekeepers who clean hospital rooms at Ascension St. Francis Hospital on Milwaukee’s south side have quit in the last two weeks, and others are threatening to leave, over coronavirus safety issues, according to an article on the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel website.

Environmental services workers say they are not being provided proper protective gear.

Employed by a contractor, the housekeepers say they were told to clean rooms where COVID-19 patients were or had been being treated, while only being given a single mask to wear per shift.

“They preach to us for years, ‘One mask, one room,’ and now you’re telling me, ‘One mask for eight hours?’ That doesn’t work for me,” one housekeeper said in the article.

Read the article.

 



April 3, 2020


Topic Area: Environmental Services


Recent Posts

What Does Light Daily Cleaning Miss in Patient Rooms?

Most environmental services workers still clean as if they are wiping dust off a countertop, not disrupting a living, structured community.


Smart Lighting Overhaul Boosts Efficiency, Diagnostics and Wellness at Bryan Health

Case study: LED upgrade and advanced controls across Bryan Health campuses cut lighting energy use by 57 percent while enhancing patient care and staff productivity.


AdventHealth Opens New Freestanding ER in Florida

The approximately 13,700-square-foot emergency room features 12 patient rooms, respiratory therapy services, diagnostic imaging including CT scans, X-ray and ultrasound.


Dirty Floors: How Pathogens Can Accumulate and Spread Underfoot

Studies show that healthcare floors are covered in bacteria and can quickly spread throughout patient rooms. 


WellSpan Health Opens Its Newberry Hospital in Pennsylvania

This marks the opening of its 10th hospital in the region spanning Central Pennsylvania and Northern Maryland.


 
 


FREE Newsletter Signup Form

News & Updates | Webcast Alerts
Building Technologies | & More!

 
 
 


All fields are required. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.