Nurses Find Hidden Cameras at Hospital

Good Samaritan workers fear intrusive monitoring. Officials cite security concerns.

It was the wires dangling from a wall clock that first caught the eye of the nurse, who was taking a breather after a stint in the labor and delivery unit of Good Samaritan Hospital.

A closer inspection revealed a tiny, pea-sized camera lens above the numeral "9."

Within minutes, nurses at the hospital just west of downtown Los Angeles hit the phones, alerting colleagues about the device in the break room and asking them to check other clocks for hidden cameras. In all, they found 16 tiny devices hidden within timepieces placed on the walls of lounges, a fitness center, a conference room and a pharmacy, among other locations.

"We feel they have violated our rights and our privacy," said Sussette Nacorda, 50, a nurse in the coronary care unit, who found a camera in a lounge.

Hospital officials said they installed the cameras over the summer as part of a security effort. They said they had intended to put up signs to notify people about the cameras but had not had an opportunity before the devices were discovered. The cameras had not yet been turned on, they said.

"Our goal is not at all to spy on" nurses, said Sammy Feuerlicht, the hospital's vice president of business. "Our goal is to make employees feel more comfortable, not less comfortable."

Feuerlicht contends that the hospital installed the cameras after employees expressed concern that some break rooms and other facilities were vulnerable to burglaries.

"There had been some thefts occurring in break rooms in the past," he said, adding that the plan was for security officers to review the footage if someone reported a theft.

Full Story: http://ktla.trb.com/news/local/ktla-me-cameras18nov18-lat,0,6126029.story?coll=ktla-news-1

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

Big brother is watching you. We have visible cameras in our hallway for security, but hidden cameras in the breakroom??? Outrageous.

How can someone 'forget' to notify employees of 16 spy cameras?

Outrageous indeed.

It is outrageous !!!

They said they hadn't had the time to inform anyone?

I wonder if the nurses get to use that excuse.... I didn't have time. yeah, right.

I'm not workin' there!

I just watched on TV...a Hooters girl has successfully sued because management was watching them in their lounge. How come these girls can sue and nurses can't??

If these girls can win seems nurses being watched in the nurses lounge could as well....

I just watched on TV...a Hooters girl has successfully sued because management was watching them in their lounge. How come these girls can sue and nurses can't??

If these girls can win seems nurses being watched in the nurses lounge could as well....

I think the difference is that the Hooters girls were changing clothes in their lounge (the girl who won the suit could hear people laughing every time she changed clothes). All we use our lounge for is eating lunch.

Some nurses have posted they DO change clothes in their lounge/breakroom/locker room...it's not unusual to see these 3 rooms in 1 combination in my parts.

Some nurses have posted they DO change clothes in their lounge/breakroom/locker room...it's not unusual to see these 3 rooms in 1 combination in my parts.

Then, yes, a lawsuit would be in order. It's wrong anyway, but it's really really wrong -- big lawsuit wrong -- if people are changing clothes.

[DutchgirlRN, ASN, RN]

Big brother is watching you. We have visible cameras in our hallway for security, but hidden cameras in the breakroom??? Outrageous.

We have a hidden camera in our break room also. The day shift knows all about it the night shift doesn't. We have been having some thefts, occuring between 6:30 - 7:00. Our shift starts at 7:00. So far one night shift tech has been caught stealing food out of a locker. So far no money theft. We asked administration to install the camera. We have had money missing several times. One nurse lost $150.00 . I don't bring any cash to work except enough for lunch in my pocket and keep my purse locked in the trunk of my car. I feel bad for the people who have had money stolen and I would like the thief to get caught but the victim (sad as it is) should not be trusty enough to leave their purses out in the open.

I'm glad that I retired when I did if this is what our work places are now doing.

That is so sad.

don't believe in big brother...don't want hidden cameras I think its a shame that staff would steal from one another....it has happened where I work.....food stolen money stolen whay can't people just be adults.......I stll don't want hidden cameras....how can people live with them selves?????

Lawsuit? Good luck! Employers put cameras wherever they want because it is their "right". Some even go as far as putting hidden cameras in the bathrooms. They still try to justify it as "theft prevention"

[Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN]

There's time to install 16 cameras, yet no time to inform the staff. Sniff, sniff, i smell BS.

[Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN]

We have two hidden cameras in each of our lounges. Some idiot was coming in after hours and stealing the men's Dansko shoes from the locker room. You have to go through the lounge to get to the locker rooms.

[DutchgirlRN, ASN, RN]

I'm glad that I retired when I did if this is what our work places are now doing.

That is so sad.

It's not sad that we have a camera it's sad that we have to because our colleagues cannot be trusted. That's a crying shame.

People should be able to lock their lockers and leave valuables at home. I would think that would be preferable to spying on your colleagues. Sad the night shifters can't be trusted, just as sad that they apparently can't trust their colleagues to be honest with them.