OR Manager - February 2020 - 9

OR business
Recycling
Continued from page 1
Forming the committee and its
charter
Committee members included the perioperative
director, perioperative staff
specialist, surgical service clinical practice
nurses, MGH sustainability director,
Partners HealthCare sustainability director,
MGH environment of care manager,
and the anesthesia technology team
leader. (Partners HealthCare is a Boston-based
network that includes MGH
and Brigham and Women's Hospital.
Partners announced a name change in
November 2019; it is now known as
Mass General Brigham.)
As the committee developed, the
center for perioperative care (CPC) and
postanesthesia care unit (PACU) clinical
operations managers and nurses also
contributed as members.
The MGH sustainability director oversees
recycling throughout MGH facilities,
while the Partners sustainability
director provides a more global perspective
for recycling options and organizational
contracts.
The committee developed a charter
to provide a mission statement, guide
the committee's work as the initiative
evolved, and establish objectives for
sustainability.
The objectives were to:
* further reduce the carbon footprint
of the OR by increasing recycling,
reusing, and reducing waste from
the OR
* understand the waste stream outside
the OR
* collaborate with colleagues and
peers to understand what works and
what does not work
* start with small steps for success
* implement practices that would decrease
waste going to landfills
* promote awareness
* ensure there is clarity in the communication
of practice changes.
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Left to right: Michael Farrell, MS, RN, CNOR; Patrice M. Osgood, DNP, RN, CNOR,
NE-BC; Barbara Belanger, MSN, RN, CNOR; and Sharon M. Bouyer-Ferullo, DNP,
MHA, RN, CNOR.
Preparation and planning
The committee, which was nursing staff
driven, created a quantitative audit
through the use of a staff survey to
evaluate what
the staff observed as
barriers to recycling in the OR (sidebar,
p 10).
" When the survey answers came
back, we were able to quantify where
the barriers were that we could address
immediately. From that perspective, we
developed a number of standardized
One-third of the
annual healthcare
industry waste
comes from the OR.
practices, " Barbara Belanger, MSN, RN,
CNOR, perioperative clinical practice
nurse at MGH, told OR Manager.
Issues identified for improvement
from the survey included a need for:
* clarity in what could or could not be
recycled
* standardized processes for recycling
* convenience and limited space.
In addition, there was a lack of
awareness of waste generated at the
point of care, such as opening and not
using items on the sterile field and the
waste stream process, says Belanger,
who assumed the committee chair position.
Committee
members toured and observed
the waste stream at MGH and
affiliated regional recycling facilities.
" We collaborated with the vendor
where the recycling waste was transported,
and we got an accurate perception
of what we could recycle and what
we couldn't, " says Belanger.
" We also clarified the type of paper
and plastic recycling with the vendor
because that had changed, " she says.
The staff were surveyed again at 1
year. There were improvements, but additional
issues were identified (sidebar,
p 11).
Process for implementing
changes
The committee's findings and preliminary
practice changes were presented
at perioperative services staff meetings,
educational in-services, and in a weekly
online OR communication newsletter.
Continued on page 10
OR Manager | February 2020 9
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OR Manager - February 2020

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