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Ideas Work
That
CREATIVE COMPLIANCE
Paper Towel Trail Improves Hand Hygiene
Y
ou might use covert monitoring meth-
ods and punitive punishments to
improve your staff's compliance with
hand hygiene protocols, but I believe in overt
observations and positive reinforcements. One
day, while making rounds to observe my staff
in action, I didn't have anything to write on
and ended up grabbing a nearby paper towel. I
jotted down my thoughts and later transferred
them to a formal auditing tool. Staff members
shared a good-natured laugh at my impromptu
note-taking method — but it also got their
attention, so I continued the practice. Now,
the sight of me with a paper towel and pen in
hand serves as a constant reminder to prac-
tice proper hand hygiene.
Victoria Brozovich, RN, CAPA
Monticello Community Surgery Center
Charlottesville, Va.
victoria.brozovich@monticellosurgery.com
DULY NOTED Victoria Brozovich, RN, CAPA, turned a missing form into a signature way to monitor
her staff's performance.
I
f you went out of your way to get recycling
bins into your ORs, the last
thing you want is for all your
green efforts to go to waste
when recyclables accidentally
wind up getting mistaken for
non-renewable, landfill-increas-
ing trash. This is something that
can happen easily if you line
your recycling bins with the
same color bags as your trash
receptacles. That's why we use
different types of bags to distin-
guish between the different
types of waste that gets discard-
ed from our facility — clear
plastic bags for recyclables and black trash bags
for waste. For us, it's one of the
small extra steps we take —
which include bold, pink signs
hung directly above recycling
bins that remind staff exactly
what items can be diverted
from the waste stream — to
ensure the recycling program
our staff worked so hard to get
off the ground continues to be
as green as possible.
Jacki Blaber, RN
Greenwich Hospital
Greenwich, Conn.
jgblaber@gmail.com
BEYOND THE BIN
The Clear Choice for Going Green
WASTE NOT The blue recycling bins at Greenwich
Hospital are lined with clear bags to ensure materials
don't end up in a landfill.
Greenwich
Hospital
Victoria
Brozovich,
RN,
CAPA
