bones of our operation and was more than happy to
make suggestions for needed improvements. She
said to view her advice as a way to build on already
sound practices, which made the advice easier to
accept and implement.
A couple years ago, our state health department
offered a free inspection of our infection prevention
practices. We readily accepted, even though it
exposed our center to another set of critical eyes
who might not like what they see. We were confi-
dent in our practices, so we signed up for the inspec-
tion, which turned out to be extremely helpful.
The state officials explained the health depart-
ment's rules and regulations, and gave us advice
that saved us time and money. For example, we
were sending expired medications offsite to be
destroyed, but learned from the officials about an
inexpensive way to neutralize and dispose of
expired medications in-house. Because we signed
up for this state survey, we learned things that led
to infection prevention being one of our strongest
areas in our formal accreditation inspection.
One final note: Remember that every surveyor is
different. Some want the staff to be there with them
the entire time, while others want to review perti-
nent information on their own. Be prepared for a
variety of styles and scenarios. If your daily prac-
tices are consistently competent and you make
good use of your time to prepare for your next sur-
vey, you'll be well positioned to pass it with flying
colors.
OSM
F
E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 1 • O U T P A T I E N T S U R G E R Y . N E T • 5 5
Ms. Nelson (lnelson@npscfl.com) is the
administrator and Ms. Harris
(aharris@npscfl.com) is the risk manag-
er at North Pinellas Surgery Center in
Dunedin, Fla.
Make sure your center is
survey-ready at all times
by incorporating standards
into your daily work.
— Anissa Harris