the room before the
patient arrives) to
cover the working
table for
endoscopy," says
Marla Holmes, RN,
CNOR, a surgical
nurse at ProMedica
Fostoria (Ohio)
Community
Hospital. "This is a
second use before
they go in the trash."
Ms. Mayo adds that uncontaminated wrap can also be used to line
supply and instrument shelves, keeping the surfaces clean and pro-
tecting the wrappings of other items. Many readers also donate used
blue wrap to local animal shelters or veterinary clinics, which use it
for bedding material in their cages.
Alternatively, you can sidestep the blue wrap issue by going without
it, like the Bayshore Medical Center in Pasadena, Texas. "We are cur-
rently converting all of our instrument sets from wrappers to an
instrument pan system," says supervisor Robin Webb, RN, CNOR.
In addition to adopting rigid containers for reprocessing, you've got
many options for using less stuff that soon becomes waste. "Look at
the things you use in large quantities. Is there a substitute that is
reusable?" asks Joyce Mackler, RN, MSN, CASC, manager of the
Seaford (Del.) Endoscopy Center. "For example, we use bins instead
of plastic bags for patient belongings."
"We have a water-filtration station and an ice machine with filtered
water, so no plastic water bottles," says Ms. Allman. "Our staff brings
8 3
January 2015 | O U T PAT I E N TS U R G E R Y. N E T
zWRAP IT UPHousekeeping with blue
wrap is one way to reuse this waste product.
Mary
K.
Lane,
MHA,
CSPDM,
CSPDS,
CSPDT
