Last month, OR leaders convened for the 2021 OR Manager Conference in Chicago. The last 18 months have radically transformed healthcare delivery in the US, but many of the underlying challenges faced by hospitals and health systems before the pandemic remain unchanged. Despite the impact of COVID-19, attendees still grappled…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on December 19, 2016, published a final rule banning powdered surgeon gloves, powdered patient examination gloves, and absorbable powder for surgeon’s gloves, effective January 18, 2017. The FDA says it issued the ban because these products present unreasonable and substantial risks to…

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Type 1 natural rubber latex allergic reactions are avoidable in the OR. Typically, surgical gloves are the last products remaining in the OR that contain natural rubber latex (NRL). Higher-cost, clinically acceptable synthetic latex surgical gloves are readily available. However, OR leaders can encounter significant resistance from hospital administrators when…

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The prospect of a surgical glove conversion is enough to make many OR directors think about retirement. Latex gloves, with their comfort, fit, and flexibility, have been the mainstay in ORs for generations. Now some major hospitals, including Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore—whose first chief of surgery, William Halsted, is…

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OR Manager asked a leading researcher and expert on latex allergy, Kevin J. Kelly, MD, to comment on the following question: Q Is it necessary to convert entirely to synthetic surgical gloves in the OR to create a "latex-safe" environment for patients and health care workers? A Recently, 2 major…

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