2 3
F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 5 | 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
W
hen
loan-
er
trays come out
of the mechani-
cal washers, put-
ting the sets
back together
can be confus-
ing, especially
when there are
multiple trays with multiple levels. We have a simple system for tag-
ging the trays and levels as they come in: We attach large paper clips
wrapped with instrument tape of various colors to the tags that lie
inside the trays. Then we know on the pack side that all of the "blue"
paper-clipped levels (1, 2 and 3, for example) go together in one tray.
We repeat this same taping sequence on the handwritten loaner paper-
work. This saves a ton of time and frustration, especially when your
washers are full of loaner trays. This process lets the decontam staff
as well as the staff assigned to the clean side know at a glance which
levels match up with which particular tray. Of course, we never pack
the tags with the trays — they're only a tool for central sterile staff.
Once the tray packer has his tray ready to assemble, he sets aside the
tags and places them back in the bin for use the next time around.
Nancy Mueller, MBA, RN, CNOR, CRCST
Southeast HEALTH
Cape Girardeau, Mo.
nmueller@sehealth.org
D E C O N TA M
Keep Loaner Trays Straight
z PAPERCLiPS AND TAPE The red and blue paper clips signify a 3-
level loaner tray. The red and yellow paper clips signify a 2-level tray.
Nancy
Mueller,
MBA,
RN,
CNOR,
CRCST
