Ha ha, last patient of the night was a young woman brought in by her stepmother at around 3 AM. Step Mom reeked of cigarettes and seemed a bit tweeky. Patient was 19, was "jumped" at 2 AM two nights ago and "beat up by a bunch of Mexican girls" because "I was wearing red". She was complaining of abd pain increasing where, supposedly they kicked her. No bruises anywhere. She got some Percs, a full work up, turns out she had a raging UTI.
So, I gave the DC instructions. They were packing up to go and the Doc glanced over (we have sliding glass doors) and mentioned to me that they seemed to be taking chux from the drawer in the room. I went in and point blank asked "Are you guys taking things from the cupboards?" I glanced over and saw a patient belonging bag filled with stuff. They admitted to taking a box of Kleenex because "I have a cold and need Kleenex" Step Mom said "We know they charge us for everything we get here after all" I laughed to myself, thinking that the only bill that woman ever paid on time was to her drug dealer.
I just told her to take the Kleenex and please leave. They left with a lot more than they came with, stuffed in their bag. Not worth making a scene and good for a laugh!
Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
As home care nurse who has went plenty of times to the ER with pts,sadly,I will admit I "steal".
The families really do need the chux..the plastic ones anyway.
We can't bring our own equipment from home,and since most are trach/vent/gtube,I see no harm in taking the suction cups.
That's kind of gross to reuse the same suction cup for others anyway..
Its not like the other nurses come help us when I'm there.
I have to do all the diaper changes,suctioning,etc until pt gets admitted.
Hospitals do not reuse suction cups...really? re-use them? Why would the nurses need to help you...they are YOUR patient and you ARE being paid to care for them...if you are having difficulty why don't you just ask for help?
Taking supplies is stealing.....You do realize that you could just ask...... What are you thinking?
Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.
Smart nurse here's a thought why not ask the ED nurses for help with supplies?
As this is at least the second time you've admitted to unethical, illegal behavior you may want to ask admin staff to edit your posts as you have posted details about your patients (age, trach/vent, diagnoses), your state, AND what agency you work for in NJ.
Medicaid HMO's cover extra suction canister and disposable chux as DME/medical supplies if you ask the home care supply company just like they cover diapers over a certain age, suction catheters, syringes, dressing supplies, etc.
People steal the strangest things especially in ED/urgent care ECG tabs, gauze, one took sanitary peri pads and was male, suction tubing, tissues, non-skid slippers. Left over components of a disposable suture kit. One wanted to take the leftover bloody pack of sutures and yelled at me for tossing it into the biohazard waste bin! :)
When I take my pedi patients to the ED, the nurses are happy to give us a few disposable chux & disposable emesis basins for the ride home when I ask. The one nurse have us a pack of baby wipes in case the kiddo vomited on the long ride home so we could better clean them up. They were very helpful & accommodating.
As home care nurse who has went plenty of times to the ER with pts,sadly,I will admit I "steal".
The families really do need the chux..the plastic ones anyway.
We can't bring our own equipment from home,and since most are trach/vent/gtube,I see no harm in taking the suction cups.
That's kind of gross to reuse the same suction cup for others anyway..
Its not like the other nurses come help us when I'm there.
I have to do all the diaper changes,suctioning,etc until pt gets admitted.
That's different. I have no problem giving home care pts dressing supplies, g tube connectors, neb masks that were used for their treatment, etc. What the OP is complaining about people that are not chronically ill
As home care nurse who has went plenty of times to the ER with pts,sadly,I will admit I "steal".
The families really do need the chux..the plastic ones anyway.
We can't bring our own equipment from home,and since most are trach/vent/gtube,I see no harm in taking the suction cups.
That's kind of gross to reuse the same suction cup for others anyway..
Its not like the other nurses come help us when I'm there.
I have to do all the diaper changes,suctioning,etc until pt gets admitted.
Oh. MY.
I see HUGE harm in stealing from hospital...why do you think some of the insurance costs are so high? To cover the UNREIMBURSED costs, and you, and I, are paying for that.
Can you not pop your head out into the hall, use the call bell, or approach the nurses station and say, "she needs to be changed - can someone help me turn her?"
If the suction supplies in the room have been used for your patient while in the ED and you feel it's an appropriate option to take them with you upon discharge for the trip home -- have you asked about that?
Are you not following procedures to attempt to obtain more supplies for your home care patients, before treating an ED visit as a Walmart shopping trip?
A couple of months ago we had a guy that tried to steal a monitor from the computer in the room. We have computers for in room charting. He had it completely unhooked and ready to take it when he left. The way we caught him was that one of the nurses taking care of him went to chart and it wouldn't work, so she traced the problem. He even had the monitor unhooked from the wall.
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
Years ago, I was taking care of "the queen of the gypsies." It was a brand new hospital, and not everything was anchored the way it should have been. The sink went missing. Also linens, toiletries and a few wallets out of the employee break room. But the capper was when a portable X-ray machine went missing. It was recovered several months later when it was found in another hospital across town, with the name of OUR hospital still stenciled on the arm.
As home care nurse who has went plenty of times to the ER with ptssadly,I will admit I "steal". The families really do need the chux..the plastic ones anyway. We can't bring our own equipment from home,and since most are trach/vent/gtube,I see no harm in taking the suction cups. That's kind of gross to reuse the same suction cup for others anyway.. Its not like the other nurses come help us when I'm there. I have to do all the diaper changes,suctioning,etc until pt gets admitted.[/quote']
smartnurse, please be smart and heed several
posters; you have revealed several things about you from previous posts and now THIS...
Seriously, I'm thinking for your own protection to post "I know a nurse who" instead; I appreciate the clarity and honesty, but you are going down a very identifiable path...just sayin'....
Many many years ago in Philly, we had a gypsy queen as a patient, and lost a massive amount of linens in 2-3 days. This was before most places had an entire security dept. In those days, the supply rooms didn't lock like they do now. When she died, the family wanted to put her body in a wheelchair and take it around to the other pt's rooms so everyone could pay their last respects! Didn't happen.[/quote']
We provide laptops for our families to use while their child is in PICU. Four have had their cables cut and stolen. Two others have had the power cords stolen. People steal the video games and such that Chilc Life provides our patients. It's sickening.
Caught a client who is an IV drug user hanging around the fridge where we keep our immunizations and some patient meds. Come to find out she had swiped several vials of pneumovax and a bottle of Insulin. When I confronted her and retrieved the items, she stated "I thought it might be heroine". Yeah, because we would keep heroine in our fridge.
Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN
20,908 Posts
Taking supplies is stealing.....You do realize that you could just ask.....
. What are you thinking? 