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No More Empty Beds - Outpatient Surgery Magazine - February 2020

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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sharps injury data that almost 25% of all sharps injuries occur to the non-user. That means they're occur- ring downstream to environmental service workers, to SPD staffers, to waste haulers." Rates of adopting sharps safety technol- ogy would improve if surgeons trained with the devices during their schooling, according to Dr. Mitchell. "That's another frustration because these newer technologies for sharps safety are typically hav- ing no visibility in medical school," she says. "Unless their attendings or surgical mentors are using them where they're being trained, young surgeons don't have access to them." Blunted sutures have been around for decades, and even the uptake from sharp to blunt has not been very good, says Dr. Mitchell. That's somewhat surprising, because there are other benefits to switching out sharp sutures for safer options. Dr. Mitchell says zipper closure manufacturers tout better cosmetic end results, and the products could improve SSI prevention because the zipper allows for fuller clo- sure of the incision — "almost like an adhesive bandage and a zipper all in one," she says. Empowered to improve Dr. Mitchell says facilities that aren't investigating sharps safety options are at risk of violating the OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y. N E T • 8 9 • SHARP DRESSED HAND Double-gloving gives your staff an extra layer of protec- tion from sharps injuries. Pamela Bevelhymer, RN, BSN, CNOR

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