4 6 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • J U L Y 2 0 1 9
Patients appreciate how
active warming makes them
feel, but are often unaware of
the importance of maintain-
ing normothermia. To ensure
patients understand why our
staff is constantly working to
keep them warm, we lami-
nated small tags that outline
patient warming's clinical
benefits and hung the tags on
each warming unit in our
facility. The tags note that active warming:
• increases circulation;
• promotes wound healing;
• decreases risk of surgical site infection;
• decreases risk of intraoperative bleeding;
• decreases shivering, which impacts oxygenation;
• decreases cardiac irritability; and
• promotes smoother and faster
emergence from anesthesia.
Staff members, even those who aren't fully up to speed on the
importance of preventing hypothermia, can always refer to a
standardized script when connecting patients to warming
devices.
— Connie Garrett, MSN, RN, CNL, CNOR
Post This Patient
Warming Cheat Sheet
• TALKING POINTS Connie Garrett, MSN, RN, CNL, CNOR,
shows off the scripted notes her staff uses to inform patients
about the importance of patient warming.
EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY
James
A.
Haley
Veterans
Hospital
