isolated patients

What kind of dishes are they? If they are disposable, there's obviously no reason to send them back to the kitchen.

And there is no way I'd be washing any dishes. If I wanted to work in dietary, I would have applied to dietary. The kitchen staff can keep their yucky rags and floral-scented dish soap to themselves.

Our isolation trays go back on the tray cart last, just before the tray cart goes back to the kitchen, where everything is washed immediately.

We just put it on the tray carts

Ours just go back to the kitchen with the rest to be washed there. There is no need for any special cleaning (unless, as once happened to me, the patient pukes on the tray- gag!).

We put ours in red bags and put them back on the cart.

The kitchen has been serving on styrofoam lately and we don't take any more dishes in there than necessary. Like the tray and hats, they stay out in hall.

We handle them like other resident's trays. They've got signs on the door before we enter their rooms to take standard contact precautions. I use gloves to pick up trays. But I feel sorry for the isolated residents.

I had one who was isolated for at least two to three weeks. One night, I saw her standing at the door. I felt so bad for her. I walked over to her. She had C-Diff. I asked her if she was all right. She said yes. I wish I could've done something more. I wished I had some magazines to give to her to read. She told me she was bored that night. I felt so bad when I dressed in the gown and gloves to help her to the bathroom. It's terrible when someone's in isolation.

Kitchen crew generally picks it up (in the hospital at least)