into the wall system to avoid taking up floor
space and collecting dirt. "Place storage close
to whoever needs to access it — where the
circulating nurse is, within the anesthesia
work area," she says. Remember, though, that
OR storage creates more horizontal surfaces,
which infection preventionists consider a dan-
ger point.
Then there's the equipment itself, including
the lights and monitors. If they're positioned
on the floor, you create more places for dust
to collect, and wires to trip over. Mounting
equipment on booms frees up floor space,
but also creates places for contaminants to
collect that the surgeon could kick up when,
for example, he manually adjusts the surgical
light.
Booms also can affect laminar flow. "You're
blowing the air into the OR lights, and the air
gets turbulent and goes through the surgical
site," says Mr. Brito.
Avera McKennan installed a system that
combines the surgical lights with laminar
flow. The lights can only be manipulated
using voice commands and hand gestures.
The LED white light also provides continual
disinfection, but isn't harmful to people like
UV light is. "We run it all day on a lower level,
and when the rooms are cleaned and emptied
for the night, they go into a high-disinfection
5 8 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0
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www.viscot.com
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