Clemson, and a team of researchers received a $4 million federal
grant from the Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research to focus
on improving patient care through human-centered design in OR.
Their efforts focused on reimagining traditional layouts to improve
the functionality of the room and enhance quality and safe care.
They analyzed big ticket items (how are surgical booms best uti-
lized?) and small details (how high off the floor should electrical
outlets be placed?).
Dr. Reeves says some technologies, including wireless video
routing, remove some tripping hazards from the floor. However,
he adds, "Many experts believed equipment would get smaller as
technology evolved, but that hasn't happened. In fact, advances
such as robotic surgery have added equipment with very large
footprints to the OR."
With valuable floor space at more of a premium than ever, the sim-
plest way to keep the surgical team upright might be to reconfigure the
typical OR set-up, according to Dr. Reeves. Instead of keeping the table
in the center of the OR, he suggests moving it closer to the upper left
portion of the room, with the head of the table angled toward the cor-
ner.
Changing the configuration of the room moves the anesthesia work-
station into an area of the OR that's typically dead space. It also
expands the functional area around the table for surgeons and staff,
including the circulating nurse, to move around more freely.
Shifting the room set-up also reduces the risk of trips and falls,
according to Dr. Reeves. He points out that equipment cables, cords
and wires are concentrated in the corner of the room, away from the
floor space where staff move around during the case.
It might take some time for your surgical team to warm up to the
idea of shifting the sterile field a few feet, according to Dr. Reeves. He
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