- For optimal OR design, play by the rules and get expert advice
- Don’t err on air pressure: Joint Commission is watching
- Editorial
- To change the culture, connect the dots between all caregivers
- OR traffic data demonstrate need to reduce door openings
- Rooms with a view: Kaizen events put things in their proper place
- Vanderbilt adds new twist to M&M tradition with focus on improvement
- New pressure ulcer risk tool moves forward with implementation study
- Mandatory BSN program launched in response to IOM recommendation
- Aligning staff with business goals builds a stronger surgery department
- Ritz customer service rules boost staff morale during difficult transitions
For optimal OR design, play by the rules and get expert advice
Designing an OR suite involves detailed planning, knowledge of regulations, an interdisciplinary team, a laser focus on process, and even a little bit of luck. Keeping all the balls in the air requires a master juggler, and OR managers are uniquely suited for that role. Architects and planners use guidelines…
Don't err on air pressure: Joint Commission is watching
Moving quickly up the ranks of the top 10 most frequently scored standards for Joint Commission accreditation is EC.02.05.01. At the end of 2012, this standard was just barely in tenth place, with 34% of hospitals noncompliant. By the first half of 2013, it had moved to fourth place and…
Editorial
The way people feel at work profoundly influences how they perform, and recent surveys find a higher percentage of burnout than engagement among many US employees, according to a New York Times article. The authors, Tony Schwartz and Christine Porath, cite a 2013 Gallup poll showing that just 30% of…
To change the culture, connect the dots between all caregivers
Finding ways to meet Affordable Care Act (ACA) requirements is a challenge all healthcare leaders are facing, regardless of the type of facility they manage. That challenge includes shifting to a value-based payment system and helping staff and physicians adapt to the sometimes bewildering array of new rules. Kent Bottles,…
OR traffic data demonstrate need to reduce door openings
Although limiting OR traffic can help reduce surgical site infections (SSIs), doing so can be a challenge in a busy OR. Two hospitals recently completed projects that successfully reduced traffic. At the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics (UIHC) in Iowa City, a guideline for limiting door openings significantly reduced…
Rooms with a view: Kaizen events put things in their proper place
What can you do when you need to store about 9,000 sq ft of equipment in just 7,000 sq ft of storage space? What if your OR supplies are housed in such cluttered, disorganized drawers that staff have difficulty finding things? Unleash the Lean teams, of course. At the University…
Vanderbilt adds new twist to M&M tradition with focus on improvement
The morbidity and mortality (M&M) conference is a traditional forum that provides clinicians with an opportunity to discuss errors and adverse events. Most are discipline specific. When a mortality or significant morbidity occurs in the OR, however, it is rarely owned by a single discipline. Multiple disciplines take care of…
New pressure ulcer risk tool moves forward with implementation study
The high incidence of pressure ulcer development in surgical patients puts the onus on perioperative nurses to be proactive in risk assessment and use of preventive measures. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) estimates that each pressure ulcer adds more than $43,000 in costs to a hospital stay,…
Mandatory BSN program launched in response to IOM recommendation
Nearly 4 years have passed since the Institute of Medicine (IOM) issued the recommendation for 80% of RNs to get their bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) degree by 2020. To achieve that goal, the IOM says, “Healthcare organizations should encourage nurses with associate’s and diploma degrees to enter baccalaureate…
Aligning staff with business goals builds a stronger surgery department
Aligning employees with organizational goals is a challenge in any industry. In a hospital OR, staff alignment is important because it can affect everything from efficiency and costs to clinical quality and patient outcomes. Directors face many common obstacles to focusing staff on OR business goals. In some hospitals, differences…
Ritz customer service rules boost staff morale during difficult transitions
If a fancy hotel can make its guests feel well cared for, why can’t a surgery center do the same? Spivey Station Surgery Center in Jonesboro, Georgia, discovered that using principles of hospitality could take it beyond excellent patient care to higher levels of patient satisfaction and staff morale. …
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