Students, staff can 'scrub in' on Amnesty Day

Published on Thursday, April 12, 2018

By: Ruth Cummins

There’s that one special day of the year when cities let people take care of their overdue parking and speeding tickets without an extra penalty.

But they don’t give you a cookie for your honesty. Employees who turn in wayward University of Mississippi Medical Center hospital scrubs on Tuesday will get a sweet treat and no judgment when they visit a table set up across from the business office in the University Hospital.

It’s Scrub Amnesty Day, and it’s a chance to rein in scrubs that require proper cleaning and storage at the Medical Center.

“Staff and students are discouraged from leaving campus while wearing UMMC scrubs,” said Daniel Enger, director of operational improvement. “And, it’s not a good look to leave campus with them on.“

Sheila Fletcher, director of infection prevention, said those who wear hospital scrubs ink-stamped with the letters “UMMC” generally are OR and procedural area staff, surgery residents and medical students. Stamps are located on scrub legs and on various spots on scrub tops.

“Scrubs are intended for use in high-risk areas, and we want to be vigilant about laundering our own scrubs,” Fletcher said. “We want to ensure the cleanliness of our scrubs falls within evidence-based guidelines.”

Employees who wear the ink-stamped scrubs place them in a scrub machine dispenser when they finish a shift or their workday, then pick up clean scrubs from a dispenser when they return to work, Enger said.

“Some people might leave campus with the intention to bring them back, and they just don’t get around to it,” Enger said. Regardless of whether changing clothes on campus is an inconvenience, he said, employees are expected to do it.

The return table, located in the well-trafficked area adjacent to the second-floor lobby, will be open from 7 a.m.-7:30 p.m., and Enger promises some pretty good cookies. “They’re a small thank you,” he said.

Questions? Contact Enger at denger@umc.edu or Fletcher at sfletcher2@umc.edu