the people who work
in them, your staff
needs to be con-
cerned with the
health of the patients
they treat, their own safety and the cleanliness of their work environ-
ment. As the experts we spoke to note, major changes will also have
to happen regarding the use of waiting rooms, lounge spaces and
other common areas that may not have previously received the same
level of attention as the OR.
Yale New Haven has already reduced seating in common areas.
The facility has removed 40% to 50% of its common seating capacity
in order to create social distancing spaces, says Mr. Branch.
Changes like this not only prevent transmission of disease when
patients or staff are in close proximity, but also have the added ben-
efit of reducing contact points, slightly lessening the surface disin-
fection burden for staff.
Mr. Branch notes that disinfection routines at Yale New Haven
have at least doubled in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and
it's likely that most facilities will have to adopt similar standards.
For facilities that are experiencing a halt or reduction in their opera-
tions, now is the time to ensure their spaces, equipment and person-
nel are ready to operate effectively. "This is a great opportunity to hire
a company specializing in healthcare cleaning to remove all equip-
ment from your operating rooms, storage and sterile processing
department, and give the entire place a terminal cleaning," says Ms.
Nucci. "Also clean the waiting room and all common areas."
The pressure on healthcare systems to improve their surface disin-
fection procedures and use technology that allows them to do so
more effectively will certainly result in great strides toward safer
5 0 • 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 Y 2 0 2 0
There is a heightened awareness of
cleanliness and disinfection right now.
— Dean A. Caruso, MBA
