Disgusting conditions on my floor. What would you do?

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Specializes in acute care then Home health.

Hi guys. I'm a nw nurse so I hope this isn't normal. I've noticed that my floor seems really dirty compared to some of the floors I did my clinicals on in other hospitals. For instance, one night my pt urinated all over the floor, so I asked my preceptor who I should call to clean it up. She told me I had to do it myself and to use mouthwash because we didnt have any cleaning supplies on the floor. Disgusting huh? Also, I recently learned that their was a case where an actress contacted flesh eating bacteria in a surgical wound while staying on my floor. What would you do if you were me.... report it, quit, or just keep my mouth shut? I need some :twocents:

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Specializes in LTC, Med/Surg, Peds, ICU, Tele.

No cleaning supplies? Don't you have a dirty utility room with that disinfectant solution? That works great with clean towels.

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Specializes in LTC, Med/Surg, Peds, ICU, Tele.

You should keep your mouth shut about the actress with the flesh eating wound though.

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hi guys. i'm a nw nurse so i hope this isn't normal. i've noticed that my floor seems really dirty compared to some of the floors i did my clinicals on in other hospitals. for instance, one night my pt urinated all over the floor, so i asked my preceptor who i should call to clean it up. she told me i had to do it myself and to use mouthwash because we didnt have any cleaning supplies on the floor. disgusting huh? also, i recently learned that their was a case where an actress contacted flesh eating bacteria in a surgical wound while staying on my floor. what would you do if you were me.... report it, quit, or just keep my mouth shut? i need some :twocents:

um... report it to ombudsmen because your facility is not being compliant and quit!!!!!! :igtsyt:

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Specializes in acute care then Home health.

Seriously, I watched as my preceptor poured mouthwash over the floor to clean it. I'm not making it up. The actress story has been all over the news in recent months. I knew it happened at the hospital I worked at, however I found out it happened on MY floor just recently. I'm thoroughly creeped out!

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Specializes in PCU, Critical Care, Observation.

Oh my. :eek: Do you not have housekeepers where you work? Why won't they clean the floors?

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Oh my. :eek: Do you not have housekeepers where you work? Why won't they clean the floors?

We don't have housekeeping during the night either. If something is accidently spilled, the CNA is supposed to clean it up. If she's very busy and can't leave a patient (there's only 1 CNA on the unit during the night shift) and the spill has to be urgently cleaned up, the RNs do it, but OMG - who ever heard of using mouthwash for this? What's next, cleaning blood with toothpaste? :eek:

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That's gross AND scary. I have no problem doing some cleanup, a little "pre-cleaning" if you will...but I gotta have the big guns come in with the bleach or whatever is appropriate! That is so unsafe....I'm glad you are disturbed by it; I can't imagine getting used to something like that! :no:

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Specializes in Trauma, Teaching.
, but OMG - who ever heard of using mouthwash for this? What's next, cleaning blood with toothpaste? :eek:

Mouthwash has a lot of alcohol in it, so you could consider you were disinfecting with it. Certainly not my first choice however.

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Specializes in acute care then Home health.

Yes flatbelly, our floor is exactly like yours. On nights we dont have housekeepers, but they do come during the day to clean. We don't have an aid most nights so everything is up to the nurses. I looked for bleach and such but the best I could find is sani-wipes to clean off the equipment. The DHS is inspecting our floor soon, cuz of the necrotizing facaelitis incident. I serously doubt we're going to pass inspection. I'm looking for another job.

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Can this be solved by something as simple as asking for the night shift to have access to the housekeeping closet? Describe the incident to your supervisor and let her know you need basic cleaning supplies.

We have one housekeeper for the entire hospital at night. She is there for primarily OB and ER, but she will come and clean a room if we really need it. 99% of the time we handle it ourselves, though. We have a key to the housekeeping closet, and use those supplies.

About the actress that contracted the bacteria--sorry, but that happens. Surgical sites become infected; sometimes it could be preventable, but sometimes even if we do everything possible, they still become infected. You definitely need to keep your mouth shut about that. About not having access to basic cleaning supplies, that is something you should speak up about.

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Specializes in Emergency.

When the inspectors come through, make sure to have an abundance of mouthwash all over the place (bathrooms, pt rooms, nurses station, etc). Make sure to mention the new, "fresh" method of cleaning the pts rooms and comment on how the pts enjoy the fresh minty scent.

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