3 2 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • O C T O B E R 2 0 1 9
3. What's in the MH cart?
First, make sure the cart is easily
accessible. We keep our cart in
the middle corridor, a few feet
from the back door of the OR.
We also hung 7 task cards on one
of the cart's handles; The charge
nurse passes them out to staff
members who arrive to help sta-
bilize the patient (see "Task
Cards Organize Response
Efforts").
MHAUS provides a comprehen-
sive list of supplies and medica-
tions that should be stored on the
MH cart (osmag.net/C4EjrK).
During our debriefing after the case involving the spine surgery
patient, a nurse said she had trouble getting to the anesthesia cart,
where the supplies needed to start IVs were located, because there
were so many people in the room. We have since added the supplies
to the MH cart based on that observation.
4. How should you respond?
Immediately place calls to your facility's main desk (or whoever can
alert the entire staff about the emergency) and the MHAUS Hotline
(800-644-9737) for real-time access to an MH expert who will guide
you through the response protocols. You can put the expert on
speakerphone or have a staff member stay on the line to relay the
patient's condition to the expert and the expert's advice back to the
OR staff. We place a magnet with the MH hotline number on each
• SAFE DISTANCE Keep MH carts fully stocked, neatly organ-
ized and within close proximity to the ORs.
