Blame over dirty hospital bed railings at University of Pennsylvania unclear.
The Philadelphia Inquirer (7/20, Avril, 1.73M) reports that janitorial staff at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania performed substandard work “cleaning the hinges on bed railings last fall,” according to Pennsylvania Department of Health officials. One physician contends, however, the bed hinges’ faulty design, which contains debris-collecting “alcoves,” is to blame rather than cleaning staff. According to the article, Hill-Rom Inc., the company that makes the beds, said it “had cooperated with the hospital and with the US Food and Drug Administration to address the matter,” while the FDA said it “was continuing to gather information at this time.”