devote to patient care. For the boost to manpower alone, direct-to-
drain is worth it.
Fluid-cart and direct-to-drain systems would've improved our time
management just as well, but the suction-canister approach was the
way to go for our 6-OR facility. To go direct-to-drain, we would have
had to install a system in each OR. When we opted for suction-canis-
ter, we installed our wall-mounted port in the waste disposal room,
out of everyone's way, and the choice has let all other facility func-
tions go unimpeded by the way we manage fluid waste.
Red waste goes green
Another benefit of converting to an integrated fluid-waste manage-
ment system is improving your environmental impact. By tying our
fluid waste directly into sanitary sewage, we reduce the amount of
resources necessary to dispose of our waste along with the chance of
the fluids leaking or becoming aerosolized in the process. Direct-to-
drain and fluid-cart options are the most environmentally friendly of
the 3 fluid-waste systems. Not only do they connect waste to sewage,
they also eliminate disposable canisters and any other materials that
would be used along the way.
Even though we use disposable canisters in our suction-canister sys-
tem, we've reduced the amount of hazardous waste we produce— no
more chemicals to solidify the fluid waste and no more cleaning
agents to reprocess canisters.
Whatever option you choose, both your downstream disposal and
upstream resource-use impact will improve, tacking on another bene-
fit to fluid waste management systems.
OSM
1 4 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 • D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 7
Ms. Hinkle (darlene.hinkle@lvhn.org) is the director of perioperative services
at Fairgrounds Surgical Center and Children's Surgery Center within Lehigh
Valley Hospital in Allentown, Pa.
