More than 120 centers throughout the US have bloodless surgery programs to serve patients who refuse blood transfusions for religious and other reasons. The practice, which began more than 50 years ago, has evolved through research on blood conservation and new techniques to minimize the need for transfusions. The Joint…

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Fifth in a series on ten elements of safer surgery.   This marks the fifth year since the worldwide roll-out of the World Health Organization (WHO) Surgical Safety Checklist. In some hospitals, the checklist has taken root and become a way of life. In others, acceptance is slower. For others,…

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When the Pentagon decided in January to lift the military’s official ban on women in combat, it wasn’t news to many who have served. But women’s service stretches farther back than I realized—and one group involved nurses. In 1942, during World War II, 99 Army and Navy nurses were swept…

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Perspectives on health care reform vary widely, and some view it negatively. But Kathleen Sanford, DBA, RN, CENP, FACHE, believes it will provide nursing with new opportunities—along with new challenges. Sanford, senior vice president/chief nursing officer at Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI), Englewood, Colorado, will share her perspective during a general…

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One Friday evening at University of Missouri Health System (MUHS) in Columbia, Missouri, Tony*, an RN with more than 17 years of critical care nursing experience, had a patient die unexpectedly during a routine procedure requiring moderate sedation. That weekend he was emotionally distressed, reliving the event and second-guessing his…

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Strict requirements needed to comply with a recall for the Neptune brand of roving suction devices are raising questions and concern for ORs whose facilities continue to use the devices. The recall of the Neptune Waste Management System from Stryker, used to collect and dispose of fluid waste, was initiated…

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OR Business Performance is a series intended to help OR managers and directors improve the success of their business.   How do you improve an OR’s financial performance? Last month’s column focused on two key strategies: using data to identify improvement opportunities and rallying support for organizational change. These strategies…

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OR teams are accustomed to using checklists to keep patients safe during surgery. Could extending presurgical checklists to the physician’s office or clinic produce even better results? The new Strong for Surgery initiative in Washington State is introducing checklists into offices and clinics to help address issues like nutrition, glycemic…

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Before any elective surgery, patients are expected to arrange for an escort who will take responsibility for them at discharge—someone who will drive them home and possibly care for them as they recover from the effects of anesthesia. Despite a strict policy that patients must have a “responsible adult escort,”…

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