5 0 S U P P L E M E N T T O O U T P A T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E A U G U S T 2 0 1 6
(osmag.net/9EKkrT). The lesson is clear, says NIOSH: Employees who are
properly trained and properly equipped to clean up spills as soon as they're dis-
covered will protect themselves from harm.
"Be proactive when using large volumes of irrigation — don't wait until you
have wet floors to start collecting runoff," says Dianna Wilson, MSN, RN,
CNOR, assistant director of operative services at Alamance Regional Medical
Center in Burlington, N.C. "In cases where you have large volumes of fluid
waste and take early action to collect it, you don't see slip-and-fall accidents,
as opposed to when you don't take precautions and should have."
Ms. Wilson takes a "best defense is a good offense" view and recommends
investing in an efficient in-line arthroscopy pump system that automatically
reacts to internal pressure
changes within the joint and
adjusts fluid delivery to limit
runoff, even during high-volume
cases. "It measures the fluid going
in and coming out, so you should
have very little excess to deal
with," she says.
2
Automate
the process
Ask anyone working in an
OR that sees more than a moder-
ate volume of minimally invasive
orthopedic fixes, and they'll tell
you how much automated fluid
waste management systems light-
en the load. Whether it's a mobile
collection unit that's drained
• BLOODY MESS The safest, most efficient and most economical fluid dis-
posal method depends on a facility's case volume.
Pamela
Bevelhymer,
RN,
BSN
