cleaning. As you can
see in the photo to the
left, they now clean
diamond blades using
a sponge system with
cleaning solution.
How it works: You
expose the diamond
blade from its handle,
then push it into the
cleaning sponge and
rinse. Techs wash and
rinse the blades twice,
all by hand, which Ms.
Sawyer says has cut down on damage to the blades.
11. Have adequate inventory.
Trying to get by with an insuffi-
cient inventory of instruments can lead to shortcuts when cleaning
instruments.
At Main Line Surgery Center, they can do 60 cases in a day, approxi-
mately 8,000 cases a year. The 4 ORs are running at full capacity with
cataract patients.
"Having the 2 central supply technicians and a lot of inventory saves
repair money and saves time because we get to do more cases," says
Ms. Welliver. "I'm doing what I need to do to keep the flow going and
to make sure we have the right instrumentation. It's also an infection
control issue. Can you afford an infection? I don't think so."
12. Devise a handoff sheet.
After a case, everybody goes into
hurry-up mode because they want to get the room turned over as
S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 9 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y. N E T • 9 9
Mark
Voigt/CentraCare
Health
• SAFE SEPARATION An easy way to protect instruments from unnecessary dam-
age is to use a surgical towel to segregate the delicate from the sharp instrumenta-
tion.
