patient is completely cushioned from their neck down to their feet."
When considering new pads, rolls and other positioners, Mr.
Morsut suggests looking at options featuring viscoelastic gel,
which works well for high-risk patients. "They disperse patient
weight more evenly," he says. "We try to stay away from foam,
since it compresses down too much sometimes and doesn't give a
large surface area for the patient's mass to dissipate."
5. Cross contamination
Don't forget about the behind-the-scenes patient safety players in
your central sterile processing department. The latest lumen-
flushing devices, low-temperature sterilization units and manual
cleaning aids can give your techs a leg up in the fight against
cross-contamination. For Donna M. Mavrelos, RN, BSED, CNOR,
RNFA, CRCST, sterile process-
ing manager at Nemours A.I.
duPont Hospital for Children in
Wilmington, Del., that includes
2 devices the hospital recently
added to ensure proper clean-
ing of an instrument before
sterilization or high-level disin-
fection. In the OR, staffers use
a point-of-use cleaning kit that
contains slim tubes filled with
enzymatic detergent. After the
surgeon is finished with a
robotic, laparoscopic or other
slim instrument, its tip is
inserted into the tube to keep
1 0 2 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 6
• SWAB TREATMENT Swab high-touch surfaces like
keyboards to make sure you're not cross-contaminating.
