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A Deep Dive Into Surface Disinfection - October 2017 - Subscribe to Outpatient Surgery Magazine

Outpatient Surgery Magazine, providing current information on Surgical Services, Surgical Facility Administration, Outpatient Surgery News and Trends, OR Excellence and more.

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high-tech flushing system), sinks of adequate height, width and depth, the proper chemicals, appropriate PPE, a sharps container, pre-process- ing equipment (such as standalone ultrasonic washers), and any other supplies needed to safely restring and sort stainless steel instruments. Back to the brushes for a moment: Make sure these are organized and easily identifiable. Many an internal scope channel has been damaged by incorrect or compromised brush usage. Ensure OR ownership: first things must be first. As important as the proper tools are in the hands of a competent, well-func- tioning decontamination team, the SPD department is actually the second set of eyes to guard against possible microbial mistakes. The first opportunity to tackle potential processing pitfalls actually hap- pens immediately post-op, before the instruments ever leave the OR. Ensure your nurses and techs in the room are aware of the necessity of post-op prep of their instrument trays, such as removing any inserts (such as Fogarty clamps and Brainlab tracking balls), disposing of (ahem) disposables (such as plastic/rubber attachments, suture and single-use towel clips), removing gross bioburden (blood, fat, tissue, bone), restringing of ring-handled instruments (on a low-tech stringer or high-tech restringing technology), flushing any suction devices (such as Frazier, Andrew or abdominal suctions), and finally, pre- treating the instruments with a low-tech damp towel or high-tech pre- treatment solution). To win this war on decontamination oversights, we need our partners in the OR to begin the process as soon as possi- ble. Every minute counts. Post it, train it, do it. Finally there's the idea of repeatable excel- lence. A decontamination technician is only as good as his habits; his habits are formed by his training; and his training (hopefully) is 3 2 J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 7 • O U T PA T I E N TS U R G E R Y. N E T • 1 2 3

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