smoke evacuation. A suggestion: Focus on the benefits to the patient.
These would include increased visibility during minimally invasive
procedures, fewer delays during procedures to clear the air of surgical
smoke, and less carbon monoxide absorption, resulting in less nausea
and vomiting and shorter lengths of stay in the PACU.
You can then follow up with the benefits of a safer work environ-
ment — the air being free of chemicals and particulates, thereby
resulting in fewer health effects and fewer sick days for respiratory
ailments. This, in turn, could reduce costs associated with having to
make up for absent personnel.
Clear objective
Vangie Dennis, BSN, RN, CNOR, CMLSO, has long understood the
dangers of surgical smoke. It began early in her career, when she
worked as a laser coordinator, and carried through her time as clinical
manager of surgical services and certified laser safety officer for
Gwinnett Hospital System in Duluth, Ga.
Today, as administrative director for The Emory Clinics in Atlanta,
Ms. Dennis continues to keep the bull's-eye squarely on surgical
smoke. In fact, under her direction, Emory was a beta site for AORN's
Go Clear Award, launched in October to help ORs go "smoke free."
The program's goals include:
• Increasing smoke-evacuation compliance on all procedures that
generate surgical smoke.
• Ensuring the safety of all surgical patients by protecting them
from the hazards of surgical smoke.
• Providing education for perioperative team members on the risks
of surgical smoke and then teaching implementation methods for
smoke evacuation.
• Helping facilities attract and retain the best clinicians due to a
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