apart," says Melissa Willms,
BSN, RN, CNOR, surgical serv-
ices manager at Fayette County
Hospital in Vandalia, Ill.
When to start?
When do you begin cleaning the
room — while the patient is still
in the room or only after the
patient leaves the OR? More
than half (56.5%) of our respon-
dents wait until the patient has
been rolled out to begin clean-
ing, while 40.2% get a head start
by removing supplies and equip-
ment when the patient is being aroused from anesthesia. One facility
starts to bag up the trash and remove the linens from the OR bed, "but
no wet cleaning begins until the patient exits the room."
At Central Louisiana Hospital, cleanup begins when the patient is
being aroused from anesthesia, says Ms. Humbles. The scrub remains
sterile at the sterile field while the circulator and other free team
members help remove waste bags and gather cleaning materials, she
says.
"The surgical back table is often cleared in the very late stages of a
routine case once the surgeon has given the okay to do so," says Ms.
Conley.
"There's no reason that cases can't be cleaned up while the patient
is being aroused and the dressings are on. Everything except wiping
down the table can happen," says a respondent.
About two-thirds of respondents (65.9%) mop the floors between cases
1 0 4 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 7
• HIT SQUAD Only 20% of the surgical facility leaders Outpatient
Surgery Magazine surveyed have a dedicated turnover team.
Pamela
Bevelhymer,
RN,
BSN,
CNOR
