Outpatient Surgery Magazine

Going Green for the Greater Good - March 2020 - Subscribe to Outpatient Surgery Magazine

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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and that tray is wrapped daily, you'll spend $20 per week on wrap, and $15,600 over a 15-year period. That expense doesn't account for the disposal costs associated with blue wrap, which can add up. "It's not just the cost of the con- tainer versus the cost of the wrap," says Ms. Chobin. "You must also consider the expense of disposing or recycling of blue wrap and the staffing hours of the workers who collect it and send it out. That time is money." By the book Based on the clear benefits associated with rigid containers, you have to wonder why more facilities don't do away with blue wrap for good. Cleaning concerns can be an issue. Rigid sterilization containers must be cleaned between each use, but this is a corner that gets cut more often than it should. "Containers aren't being regularly cleaned in about 20% of facilities I visit," says Ms. Chobin. She believes there's a common misconception about the clean-between-each-use mandate: Some staff members believe containers that aren't brought into the OR don't have to wiped down. "I don't know where that assumption started," says Ms. Chobin. "But the instructions for use from every container's manufacturer state their containers must be cleaned after each use. "Rigid containers are cost-effective, they've been proven to pre- vent instrument damage and they're an effective barrier against contamination," she adds. "I think rigid containers are one of the best things that's ever happened to sterile processing." OSM 6 8 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • M A R C H 2 0 2 0

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