Housekeepers Week was first celebrated in 1981, with the official theme: Our Profession Is Clean. Sponsored by the International Executive Housekeepers Association, Inc. (IEHA), the week was born of a need identified by the association's president "to recognize the doers in the profession."

The American Health Care Association has been sponsoring an annual week-long observation of nursing homes and centers focused on assisted living and short and long-term rehabilitation since 1967.