Outpatient Surgery Magazine - Subscribers

Melt Your Job Stress Away - January 2014 - Outpatient Surgery Magazine

Outpatient Surgery Magazine, providing current information on Surgical Services, Surgical Facility Administration, Outpatient Surgery News and Trends, OR Excellence and more.

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Page 53 H Y P O T H E R M I A How Do You Warm Your Patients? Pamela Bevelhymer, RN, BSN TAKE THE TIME Perioperative hypothermia is associated with poor outcomes for patients, yet it's preventable in most cases. There are many ways to prevent hypothermia. Dan O'Connor | Editor-in-Chief The evidence is overwhelming: Patients that are warm have far better surgical outcomes than those that aren't. They have fewer infections, faster emergence from anesthesia, better comfort and shorter stays in recovery. Warm patients are also more satisfied, so thrilled that they didn't shiver through surgery that they'll write you a thank-you letter. "It's extremely comforting and reassuring to be kept warm. Such a small gesture goes a long way," says Yanara Reda, RN, BSN, OR team leader at the Rockland and Bergen Surgery Center in Montvale, N.J. And yet despite the many proven benefits, the practice of warming is highly variable, dependent on such factors as the length and type of procedure, the mode of anesthesia, the patient's age and even the warming device(s) you use, according to last month's Outpatient Surgery Magazine online survey of 100 surgical facility leaders. Some key findings of our survey:

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