Four nurses at Atlanta’s Emory University Hospital Midtown have been fired after sharing their “icks” about labor and delivery patients on TikTok. But the original post, and the almost instantaneous backlash it created, have unearthed other complaints from people who are alleging they were mistreated by labor and delivery staff — some of them naming the Atlanta hospital specifically.
The original video has been taken down, but dozens of creators have reshared it, calling out the nurses for being unprofessional and inappropriate. Tapping into a TikTok trend in which people share their “icks”, or their turnoffs, often to their friends, relatives, or significant others, the four nurses are seen swapping their “icks” about patients. “My ick is when you ask me how much the baby weighs, and it’s still in your hands,” one nurse says in the original TikTok. “My ick is when you come in for your induction talking about, ‘Can I take a shower and eat?'” another nurse says. A third nurse adds, “when we’ve already told you to push the call light, but every five minutes your family member coming at the front desk asking for something else.”
Since the video went viral, the hospital has released a statement calling the staffers responsible for the video “former employees” and stating that the video “does not represent our commitment to patient- and family-centered care.” Emory also stated that, “at no time should our patients ever feel like they are not being treated with care and respect.”
But in response to this statement and the nurses’ video, several individuals on Twitter claiming to be former patients of the hospital have accused the hospital of doing just that by allegedly dismissing or ignoring their concerns and symptoms.
The allegations in these posts and the trending video are particularly dismaying considering the maternal mortality rate in this country — which is one of the highest among high-income countries, Guttmacher Institute notes. In fact, a 2021 study found that the state of Georgia (where Emory is located) holds the highest maternal mortality rate in United States (46.2 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births for all women). And what’s more, Black women are even more impacted, accounting for 66.6 of maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in the state.
Emory University Hospital Midtown didn’t respond to POPSUGAR’s request for comment regarding the video and subsequent accusations. We can only hope that the hospital and others around the country will use this as an opportunity for a wake up call and take a closer look at how they can do better by their patients.