Video Of a Nursing Assistant Flossing Teeth Over a Patient Goes Viral
A nursing assistant at Ottumwa Regional Health Center in Iowa has reportedly been fired after a video of her flossing—yes, flossing her teeth—over a patient went viral. Yeah, we wish this were satire - but it’s not.
The Incident
Picture this: a hospital room, a vulnerable patient, and a nursing assistant multitasking personal dental care with patient oversight. The now-infamous video showed her flossing her teeth while standing over a patient. Aside from the obvious health and safety concerns (germs, anyone?), this eyebrow-raising act of unprofessionalism was a one-way ticket out of the healthcare field.
According to Joe Bainbridge on Facebook, who said he filmed the footage on December 22, the worker was seen flossing while standing over and next to his friend, a patient at Ottumwa Regional Health Center. His friend was admitted to congenital heart disease. The video shows the patient trying to get the aide's attention who was ignored. Bainbridge told local news that he posted the video for awareness and to get his friend transferred to a different hospital.
It didn’t take long for the footage to spread faster than the latest TikTok dance trend, and the internet did what the internet does best: reacted. The video drew sharp criticism from healthcare professionals and the general public alike, sparking outrage and, let’s be honest, some seriously spicy memes.
The Hospital Responds
Ottumwa Regional Health Center wasted no time. They promptly terminated the nursing assistant. While healthcare can be full of grey areas, this was a black-and-white scenario: flossing over a patient crosses every line.
A hospital spokesperson issued a statement to nurse.org saying,
“Ottumwa Regional Health Center has a zero-tolerance policy for actions that don’t align with our core values. As soon as this unacceptable behavior was flagged for us early last week, we addressed it, immediately suspending and then terminating the employment of the staff member involved. This one incident is not a reflection of the dedication of our team or the great care we provide our community each day. We encourage anyone who sees something like this to speak up and report it so we can resolve it as quickly as possible, ensuring the health and safety of our patients and learning from it.”
Obviously (or maybe not, in this case) flossing is great for your teeth—just not at the bedside.
If you have a news story that deserves to be heard, we want to amplify it to our massive community of millions of nurses! Get your story in front of Nurse.org Editors now - click here to fill out our quick submission form today! Or email info@nurse.org