B
e careful, the floor's wet and slippery. Colbie Fredette,
RN, absentmindedly repeats that phrase without look-
ing up whenever someone walks into the OR during
fluid-heavy ortho cases. "I say it all the time," laughs
Ms. Fredette, nurse manager at Boston Out-patient
Surgical Suites in Waltham, Mass. "When the floor is wet, it gets slick,
and it's easy to slip and fall." She'd rather sound like a broken record
than watch one of her teammates break a bone.
To help stem the tide during joint arthroscopies, her facility invest-
ed in four mobile fluid collection units — one for each of its three ORs
and another to have on standby for fluid-intensive cases — that attach
directly to specialized pouches on surgical drapes to keep runoff from
hitting the floor. The systems work wonderfully — when they're used.
O
C T O B E R 2 0 2 0 • O U T P A T I E N T S U R G E R Y . N E T • 3 7
Keep Floors Clear and Dry
Eliminate tripping and slipping hazards
in the OR to keep staff upright and safe.
Dan Cook | Editor-in-Chief
NEAT IDEA Clutter-free spaces decrease the potential for
injury and distractions during action-packed days in the OR.