Suspended outlets and booms are a great idea. You can also plug
equipment in at the side of the table so that cords aren't trailing on the
floor where there's foot traffic. If you do drape cords across the floor,
you should conceal them. You can buy disposable cord covers or
cover them with bath blankets. Perhaps the best alternative: wireless
equipment that eliminates cords, such as increasingly popular wire-
less foot pedals for arthroscopic procedures.
3. Protect your SPD Staff
Once the case is over, do you toss away
those bright orange mats used to desig-
nate a neutral zone for the hands-free
transfer of sharps? Mr. Lomboy found
another use for the orange mats: to alert
his sterile processing staff to the pres-
ence of sharps. OR staff place knife han-
dles, hooks, drill bits and all other sharps
atop the orange mat so that your SPD
staff know right away there are sharps in
the decontamination tray. Call it a repur-
posed sterile processing safe zone.
4. Double-glove
Much of what your team does in the OR
is for the benefit of the patient. While
double gloving provides patient safety,
it also offers protection for the OR team. Wearing double gloves
helps prevent surgical site infections and creates a double barrier,
preventing microbial transfer from team members to patients or vice
versa. Studies say that anywhere from 600,000 to 800,000 percuta-
8 6 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 6
• SHARP ALERT An orange safety mat alerts reprocess-
ing techs that sharps are in the decontamination tray.
Christopher
M.
Lomboy,
RN,
BSN,
RNFA,
MBA
