A U G U S T 2 0 1 7 • O U T PA T I E N TS U R G E R Y. N E T • 1 5
• Anesthesia "doilies." Not trying to pick on the folks who give great
anesthesia care, but you need to regularly discard OR towels and chucks
that live on top of anesthesia carts. Our carts are not in Grandma's living
room. Make throwing it out part of the anesthesia provider or OR staff's
checkout routine.
• Cleaning stools and equipment bases. Somehow, we tend to for-
get cleaning these things below the knee. Add the task as a specific
item on the cleaning schedule.
• Cleaning the nurse's station. We clean all the patient care areas
like no other, but is anyone routinely cleaning the nurse's station?
Make wiping down the station a once-a-week staff task. It'll help
reduce the clutter, too.
• Keyboards. Another overlooked area. You can buy easy-to-wipe
keyboard covers at Amazon or your local office supply store.
• Ortho "shrimping" boots. Give me a scrub brush and some soap.
Enough said.
• Wiping down positioning equipment. We take our gel pads and
positioners off the bed and put them in the corner without wiping
them down. Remind staff to clean them during room turnover.
Leslie Mattson, RN, BSHM
ALM Surgical Solutions
Atlanta, Ga.
leslie@almss.com