Keepers of the House

Every day of the week, environmental service workers enter hospital patients’ rooms to clean. Their work may bring a measure of dignity and connection to people who are sick, vulnerable, and away from their familiar homes. Because these workers are assigned to the same specific areas of the hospital, they often develop meaningful relationships with patients and their families. In this 15 minute documentary video, eight housekeepers at Duke Hospital and Duke Regional Hospital talk about their special human relationships with patients and the ways in which they believe their work contributes to healing. It is our hope that the film will enable health care providers and students to see the housekeepers in a new light, and give serious consideration to the vital themes of empathy, humility, and teamwork.