dinged recently by accrediting organizations because their instru-
ments weren't opened wide enough in their peel packs.
Don't let it happen to you. There are products available that protect
the tips of instruments while keeping the instruments in an open posi-
tion without compromising the package's integrity.
6. Hand sanitizers
We've had these wonderful hand sanitizer dispensers available to us
now for 15 or 20 years, and it's been shown time and again that the
more visible they are — and the more you have in a variety of loca-
tions — the more likely people are to use them.
Where are your hand sanitizers? They should be in all patient care
areas where staff are moving around and likely to see them. They
should be outside the OR, inside the OR and on the anesthesia cart
(or at least mounted close to where the anesthesia team is working);
they should be in pre-op, in PACU, in the hallways, in patient care
rooms, and anywhere and everywhere else where there's heavy traffic,
while making sure, of course, that they're installed according to Life
Safety Codes. Hand hygiene is an easy and inexpensive practice we've
known about for many, many years. It's time we do everything we can
to make sure that such an easy convention doesn't fall through the
cracks.
OSM
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