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N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 4 | O U T P AT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E
op bathing needs, and provide written instructions for patients to take
home as a reminder," says Christy Hutto, RN, director of nursing at
Carolina Ambulatory Surgery Center in Aiken, S.C.
Remind patients during the pre-op verification call as well as during
the arrival time call the day before surgery, says Angela Eggleston,
BSN, RN, CNOR, director of nursing services at Union Hospital in
Dover, Ohio.
For best results, however, it may be advisable to partner with your
physicians' offices to promote the practice. The SSI prevention com-
mittee at Lakeland (Fla.) Regional Medical Center is developing a
process to get them all onboard. "We are going to standardize the pre-
op instructions and include them in 'cleansing kits' we'll provide to
our hospital-employed surgeon's office. The same will be made avail-
able to non-hospital-employed surgeons," says Cheryle M. Smith, RN,
MSN, the manager of pre-admission testing, ambulatory surgery, hold-
ing, PACU and anesthesia.
Clearly, repetition never hurts either. "They hear it on their pre-op
visit with the physician, it's given to them in writing at that visit and
they're re-instructed in their pre-op phone call," says Brenda Vahle,
RN, CAPA, clinical director of the BSM Surgery Center in Corvallis,
Ore. "The more often we remind them, the less likely they are to for-
get."
How often do you direct patients to take pre-op baths or showers?
• We don't direct them to: 15.1%
• Once, on the night before or the day of surgery: 32.6%
• Twice, on the night before and the day of surgery: 39.5%
• For 3 days before surgery: 11.1%
• For more than 3 days before surgery: 1.7%
P R E - O P B A T H I N G
