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INFECTION CONTROL
on what you conLAYING IT OUT Use sticky notes to map out all the steps involved in
getting a dirty instrument back from the OR and returning it to the OR clean.
sider to be the
ideal scenario,
you develop a
roadmap for
incremental
improvement
over time.
That's what
we've done and
what we continue
to do. It takes
time and effort,
but it's a gift that keeps giving, saving us time and money every day.
We identified 2 key areas of focus: case-cart assembly and what happens from completed cases to decontamination. Here are some of the
things we discovered and accomplished:
• We easily exceeded our goal of reducing our flash rate from
around 16% to less than 5%. It's now around 2%.
• Many instruments that were being stored were simply taking up
space — they weren't being used anymore. There were trays that had
been set up for doctors who'd worked here once or twice a long time
ago. Some of those had instruments that were reusable and could be
put back into service. Others were so old and outdated that no surgeon would ever use them again. Those we had taken away by the
biomedical department.
• By consolidating and getting rid of so many instruments, we were
able to clean out an entire quadrant, freeing up several rows of shelving and trays. That alone made the whole area run much more
