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,…

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Getting a zero deficiency rating on a recent Joint Commission survey and bringing sterile processing in house are 2 of many improvements made at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital over the past decade. When Frances Baldwin, MBA, RN, assistant vice president of perioperative services, joined the hospital 11 years ago, Georgetown…

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With fewer new ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) forming each year and more merging back into hospitals, it has become popular to describe the industry as “mature.” It’s not yet time for an obituary, however. Improved technology, bolstered by healthcare reform, is driving a transition to outpatient treatment, and, when it…

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In 2011, fewer than half of all first cases at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire, were starting on time. That meant subsequent cases were also delayed, with overtime costs exceeding $500,000 a year. “People were unhappy with that for a lot of different reasons. It was a…

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OR managers have many opportunities to improve the lives of their patients. They meet with staff to review scheduling policies and infection prevention procedures. They may sit on committees to help select new supplies and equipment. The physical work environment, however, is usually a given. The operating room may have…

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OR Manager, Inc, is making an important transition in its successful history with its acquisition by Access Intelligence, LLC, and its Dorland Health Division as of January 2011. For 26 years, OR Manager, Inc, has provided information on management of the surgical suite through its monthly publication, conferences, webinars, and…

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A new study provides strong evidence that surgical skin prep with chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG)-alcohol is superior to povidone-iodine scrub in preventing surgical site infections (related article). What if most of the surgeons in your OR use povidone-iodine? How can you introduce the new evidence to the surgeons and convince them…

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The forces reshaping health care are formidable, from aging and growing diversity to an almost total failure of public policy, to the constant and ever-more-intense impact of technology, says Emily Friedman, noted health policy and ethics analyst. "But that hardly means that the individual health care professional—the OR manager in…

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Overseeing construction or renovation of an OR suite requires skill, humor, and a large dose of patience. Few nurses feel ready to helm these massive projects, and even experienced nurses seek ways to do it better. "It's like having a child," says Renae Battié, RN, MN, CNOR, director of intraoperative…

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First in a series on OR design and construction. Faced with dated structures, an aging baby boomer generation, and demands for new technology, hospitals are in the midst of a building boom. A 2006 report from The Center for Health Design (CHD) estimated that the US will spend $200 billion…

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