ized case carts because they
were lazy or inconsiderate.
"They come from various
backgrounds and different
facilities," says Ms. Houston.
"Many were unaware of how
we wanted contaminated
instruments handled."
Ms. Houston and her col-
leagues now attach a report
card to each case cart on
which sterile processing
techs assign pass-fail grades
to these 5 critical elements:
• Was the cart identified as
containing contaminated
instruments?
• Was the cart locked and the lid secure?
• Were instruments pre-treated with moisturizing gel?
• Were instruments restacked or restrung, and placed in correct
trays?
• Was gross bioburden removed from instruments?
The techs submit the report cards to leadership, who add the daily
grades to an Excel spreadsheet and present the findings to the OR
team each week. The instrument tracking system links a case cart —
and its report card — to the OR in which it was used and the team
who sent it to central sterile.
"We're able to identify and re-educate staff members who repeatedly
forget to follow our recommendations for transporting contaminated
instruments," says Ms. Houston.
M A Y 2 0 1 9 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y. N E T • 5 3
• SPOT CHECK Surgical tech Todd Yankus, ST, scans instrument trays
before placing them in case carts.
Valley
Health
System
