I worked in a hospital with carpets for more than 15 years. A number of years ago we had to move the pediatric and neonatal ICU patients to a facility with carpeted hallways. The first time we tried to move the incubators and radiant warmers down the long hallway to the new ICUs, the procession came to a dead stop at the carpet. We needed extra staff to help push each one over the carpeted area. Even the children in wheelchairs complained about trying to maneuver across carpets. Fortunately, the ICUs themselves had linoleum floors.

The short-term solution was to retrofit the ICU beds with smooth wheels (with locks to prevent movement during earthquakes). After a year or two, the carpet was so smoothed down that no one seemed to mind it any more.

Anne Becker, MS, RN, CNS

San Leandro, CA