Brighten Your Day

Nurses Are Using Surgical Wrap To Make Waterproof Sleeping Bags For The Homeless

October 31, 2019

A group of Florida nurses have found a unique way to help the homeless: waterproof sleeping bags made from surgical wrap.

Credit: WFTS

Sterile surgical wrap used to protect operating room instruments is normally discarded. Now it’s being recycled and sewn together by nurses at Tampa General Hospital to create sleeping bags for the homeless.

"I see all these sterile wrappers that we just throw away, so I thought, what a cool recycling initiative to help the homeless," said Nicole Hubbard, a nurse anesthetist. "The beauty about it is they conserve heat and they're waterproof."

RN Karley Wright sent out an internal email seeking help for the project.

The response, she says, was "overwhelming."

So far employees at Tampa General have helped make about 100 sterile wrap sleeping bags to be dispersed to area homeless.