7 4 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 7
• Everybody plays a part. Teamwork and a commitment to
continual process improvements have helped Community
Hospital in McCook, Neb., reduce its SSIs for each of the past
5 years. All surgical staff members are educated on proper
cleaning methods using AORN's Environmental Cleaning Tool
Kit, and every sterile processing staffer is certified. Also, an
instrument-tracking program has set the standard for moni-
toring and reporting infections. For the 4.5 years leading up
to June 2017, the hospital has been 99% compliant on
Surgical Care Improvement Project measures. In that same
time frame, the hospital's infection rate has been a sparkling
0.4%, according to Director of Surgical Services Molly
Herzberg, RN, BSN, CNOR.
• Scope vigilance. From disposable tip covers during storage
to bedside pre-cleaning kits to transportation containers,
BridgePoint Hospital in Washington, D.C., has tightened the
clamps on its endoscope-reprocessing protocol as a way to
limit infection risk. When it was "having questions" with its
bronchoscopes, for example, the hospital switched to a com-
pletely disposable product to ensure that patients were not
being exposed to high-level disinfectant or bioburden, says
Sherry Walker, MSN, BSN, RN, CNOR, the hospital's director
of surgical services. The team continues to seek new ways to
prevent SSIs, but its efforts thus far appear to be paying divi-
dends. Ms. Walker describes the hospitals surgical infection
rate as "nonexistent."
• Immediate improvement. ProMedica Fostoria (Ohio)
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Showing No Mercy To Infection Risks
