In Hospitals, Housekeepers Are Truly the ‘Keepers of the House’

February 5, 2020

(STAT News) – Malcolm’s description of what he does knocked us back on our heels. It made us realize that we pass dozens of housekeepers in the corridors and elevators every day and — like most other physicians — pay little attention to what they really do and had little appreciation of their contributions to patient care. Our blindness to the important work they do every day led us to organize a focus group to learn more about it. From that grew a film project that documented the ways hospital housekeepers participate in patient care. Throughout this process, we quickly realized that they often interact with patients more than physicians do, and they do so with great compassion.