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6 3 S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 5 | O U T P A T I E N T S U R G E R Y . N E T The Princeton (N.J.) Endoscopy Center has been open for 10 years and much of the origi- nal staff remains. It's that familiarity among caregivers that enhances patient safety, says Carroll Harrell, RN, CAPA, the center's director. "Our communication is terrific," says Ms. Harrell. "It starts at registration. If they see red flags, they place a call to the clinical team and it goes from there. There's familiarity among the staff, so they know how to adjust to problems and no one hesitates to bring an issue to someone's attention or make a suggestion." Members of the reprocessing staff tag each endoscope that's been cleaned and disin- fected, and the tag becomes part of patients' permanent charts. Ms. Harrell verifies scope readiness by conducting random tests for bioburden throughout the day. Safety drills are designed to enhance staff's understanding of the center's many policies and procedures, and attendance is mandatory for all. To keep staff engaged and up to date on any changes in policy, Ms. Harrell developed a Jeopardy-style competition. At first, staff balked at the notion of a surgical game show, but the educational opportunity devel- oped into a spirited competition and turned out to be one of the better in-services Ms. Harrell ever ran. The center's leadership tailored templates of safety checklists for the pre-op, procedure rooms and PACU. They even created a checklist for the registration desk to ensure they ask patients the right questions during pre-op phone calls. The recent outbreaks that were linked to inadequately cleaned duodenoscopes have hurt the perceived reputations of GI facilities, even if, like the Princeton Endoscopy Center, they don't use the instruments. "Patients don't hesitate to bring up what they've heard in the news. We're tuned into that and try to make the entire patient experience as safe and transparent as possible," says Ms. Harrell. "We give them clear explanations of our standards and what we do to protect them from harm." — Daniel Cook P R I N C E T O N ( N . J . ) E N D O S C O P Y C E N T E R Clear Communication Protects Patients z PLAY JEOPARDY What's a good way to teach staff about safety? Carroll Harrell, RN, CAPA