Operating Room

Whether a small cut with a knife, a surgical wound or a major injury caused by a fall the body's defense and repair system leaps into action and tries to close the wound as quickly as possible.

The healthcare industry is rife with opportunities to reduce the environmental impact it creates, with the added benefits of institutional financial gain, improved patient outcomes, better staff health and reduced turnover, and community benefit, according to a report from Practice Greenhealth and from the Institute for Innovation in Large Organizations.

Although it has always recommended institution laundering of surgical attire, the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) is unequivocal on this position in its newly revised Recommended Practices for Surgical Attire, due for release this month.

Using the same technology found in clothing tags used in retail store tracking systems, a study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill shows that surgical sponges with implanted radio frequency (RF) tags may be an effective adjunct to manual counting and X-ray detection in preventing sponges from being left behind in patients following a surgical procedure.

The Cardinal Health Foundation today announced that, for the third consecutive year, it has awarded more than $1 million in grant funding to help U.S. hospitals, health systems and community health clinics improve the efficiency and quality of care.

Smaller, rural hospitals may be quicker and more efficient at implementing surgical safety initiatives than their larger, urban counterparts, and are capable of providing a standard of surgical care that is at par with major hospitals that provide a comprehensive array of care services, according to an 18-month series of studies led by researchers from the University of Louisville Department of Surgery.

Practice Greenhealth unveils path to greener, more cost-effective operating rooms.

Preferred Surgical Products, LLC announces that it recently received a three-year, single-source contract with the Johns Hopkins Health System for its STAT-COVER line of sterile equipment covers and the STAT-PAC line of infection prevention packs for OR turnover. 

A seasoned infection preventionist discusses issues that weigh on her mind.