Outpatient Surgery Magazine - Subscribers

Helping Hand - Outpatient Surgery Magazine - July 2019

Outpatient Surgery Magazine, providing current information on Surgical Services, Surgical Facility Administration, Outpatient Surgery News and Trends, OR Excellence and more.

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smoke. How a facility decides to implement the policy and what equip- ment a facility uses is entirely up to the facility, says Ms. Pennock. "We are finding health committees and legislators are most supportive when they know a bill will accomplish the goal — protecting healthcare workers from surgical smoke exposure — while allowing healthcare facilities the freedom they need to evacuate smoke with their preferred equipment," she says. AORN's government affairs team recently created a Surgical Smoke Evacuation Legislation Checklist for surgical team members looking to mirror the Rhode Island and Colorado successes in their respective states. The goal of the checklist is to give AORN members and staff key steps they can take to lay the groundwork for successful legisla- tive advocacy. Passing legislation is often a multi-year effort which begins with educating OR staff, legislators, state regulators and facili- ty leadership. Successful legislative efforts also require strong rela- tionships with stakeholder groups such as state hospital and ASC associations. For example, in Colorado, nurses were able to move the Colorado Hospital Association from opposed to supportive by work- ing collaboratively to address hospital association concerns in the bill between legislative sessions. AORN is looking to connect with advocates in multiple states to lay the groundwork for similar initiatives in 2020. "We've heard from members in more than half of the remaining states say that they want this legislation, and they will do whatever they can to help AORN pass surgical smoke evacuation legislation across the country. As we work together to lay the foundation for legislative success, we are excited about the opportunities that lie ahead," says Ms. Pennock. OSM J U L Y 2 0 1 9 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y. N E T • 5 5

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