thesia providers, surgeons, surgical techs, circulating nurses and
ancillary members like physician assistants, vendors and radiology
techs — were accountable.
As a result, it took a couple years for me to successfully engage
everyone and get all relevant units and personnel on board to fully
implement this process. It was a significant challenge, but worth the
effort as we found one more way we protect our patients from multi-
drug resistant organisms. Remember, infection prevention isn't solely
about focusing on the patient in front of you. It also demands putting
care plans in place for the patients who are next in line to enter the
OR.
Increasing awareness among your team about how to properly pre-
vent cross contamination of microorganisms in the isolated surgical
patient's immediate environment decreases SSI risk and environ-
mental exposure to drug-resistant bacteria for healthcare providers
and OR staff.
OSM
Ms. Frary (brittany.frary@sclhealth.org) is a circulating operating room
nurse at SCL Health Lutheran Medical Center in Wheat Ridge, Colo.
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Infection Prevention
IP
