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Surgical Smoke Nearly Killed Me - Subscribe to Outpatient Surgery Magazine - February 2018

Outpatient Surgery Magazine, providing current information on Surgical Services, Surgical Facility Administration, Outpatient Surgery News and Trends, OR Excellence and more.

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ing from the trench- es. Segregate your scopes. Work with your team to nail down a process that avoids co-mingling of scopes with other scopes of any kind, says Jenny Crnkovich, assistant director and educator in the department of ster- ile processing at NorthShore University Health System in Chicago, Ill. Every time a reusable medical device is received in decontam or the dirty room, what it's been exposed to is unknown. When items are segregated, the process allows for a low occurrence of improper cleaning and reduces overall risk to reprocessing staff. Segregation also assists in the bi-directional tracking of the device, a key step all facilities should perform. Use new disposables to clean every scope. Using fresh, single-use chemistries, disposable brushes, sponges and other one-time use consumables to clean a scope reduces the risk of cross-contamination and is often required by reprocessing instruc- tions for use, says Ms. Crnkovich. Reusing contaminated cleaning agents is poor practice and puts patients and staff at risk — especially if there is an exposure. 1 2 F E B R U A R U Y 2 0 1 8 • O U T PA T I E N TS U R G E R Y. N E T • 4 7 • LIQUID MEASUREMENTS For effective disinfection, you must use the proper amount of enzyme solution and the water temperature must be in the proper range. Pamela Bevelhymer, RN, BSN, CNOR

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