S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 9 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y. N E T • 8 3
• Cleaning every surface. Lakeland (Fla.)
Surgical & Diagnostic Center invested in
and uses a UV disinfecting robot regular-
ly, all over its facility. OR Director Nikki
Williams, RN, CNOR, explains that after
manual cleaning, each OR is subjected to
2 10-minute cycles from the robot,
ensuring all surface areas are disinfec-
ted. OR staffers make sure the UV light
shines on hard-to-access places like the
undersides of mattresses and the insides
of the drawers on anesthesia machines
— "every nook and cranny we can," says Ms. Williams. The robot
is not just used in the ORs, however; it's used on a regular basis
in patient bathrooms, the lobby, SPD and materials management.
• Technology and technique. A rise in SSIs in the cardiac surgery
unit at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia, Pa., led to
close collaboration between 2 groups that often don't speak each
other's language: clinical staff and the IT department. Together,
they created a comprehensive real-time reporting document —
the OR Surgical Site Infection Report — to monitor compliance
with SSI prevention protocols. "It was difficult to identify if deficits
in care existed," says Mary Mahabee-Betts, MSN, RN, CNOR,
perioperative quality and patient safety nurse manager. While
reviewing the prevention strategies being employed, data collec-
tion proved time consuming, because the data had to be manually
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Always Improving Infection Control
• LIGHT THE WAY Johanna Pratts, RN,
uses a UV disinfection robot in a GI suite.
Lakeland
Surgical
and
Diagnostic
Center