OR Manager June 2022 - 30

AMBULATORY
SURGERY CENTERS
Are you getting
all the right
information?
As an OR Manager Subscriber, you have
access to exclusive content, survey
results and an unlimited source of
CEs through conferences, webinars,
whitepapers and more. Don't forget to log
in and earn 3 CEs for every issue of OR
Manager Monthly. Take advantage of all
your subscriber benefits today, including:
✔ 20% off all
conferences
✔ 15% off the on-site book
store at annual conferences
✔ Full access to annual
survey results
✔ Free webinars
and whitepapers
✔ OR Manager
Job Board
years ago, " he says. " They want proof
and ability to monitor through metrics. "
The surveyor will review a facility's
process to determine if it is following
its work plan for disinfecting surfaces
and meeting standards in cleanliness.
" The reason for following a work plan
is to prevent an adverse event, where
a patient in the ASC catches a nosocomial
infection, which is known to lead to
hospitalization for care, " says Coleman.
Accrediting agencies, for example,
will specify that a cleaning wipe has a
contact time of three minutes. " The surveyors
are looking at the clock to make
sure the surface is wet for that period
of time. We do a lot of education and
training with our staff to make sure they
understand this, " says Berus.
ASCs have identified ways to ensure
compliance with quick OR turnover.
Berus says she tries to educate physician
utilizers about the importance of
room cleaning during turnover, and why
products need to sit for some time.
The Joint Commission gives facilities
60 days to " close out " any deficiencies.
Depending on the severity, it will come
back to survey again, adds Coleman. To
prepare for the real thing, some facilities
opt for dry runs or mock surveys.
Texas Health Surgery Center enlisted
Do you read OR a.m.? Get all the
information you need to start your
day, exclusive deals on events and
more, delivered right to your inbox
every morning with OR a.m.
www.ormanager.com
40423
30
OR Manager | June 2022
parent company SCA to assist with a
mock survey in 2021. Cotton held education
sessions with the OR team to review
policies and procedures, educating
new team members as they onboarded
with the ASC. SCA leadership pretended
they were surveyors from The Joint
Commission, going through the motions
of checking the facility's cleanup work.
When actual surveyors from CMS
showed up unannounced, Cotton and
her team were ready for them. " We are
serious about keeping updated logs
showing proof that we're cleaning every
day, " she says.
The CMS surveyor followed her team
around as they handled patients from
admission to discharge. " He watched
us clean and prepare the OR, making
sure we were cleaning the IV before giving
a patient medication, and washing
our hands. He watched how we decontaminated
instruments, making sure we
were doing everything properly according
to the manufacturer, " says Cotton.
Importance of training, oversight
The key to preventing mistakes is to ensure
the clinical staff is fully educated
on why cleaning is important and how
to do it properly, so they know they are
cleaning for their next patient, notes
Berus.
It is important to get a multidisciplinary
team together representing all
departments-materials management,
sterile processing, and leadership-to
look at what products are being used,
says Berus. Are there better products
out there? Do administrators know who
is cleaning what and when?
Texas Health Surgery Center uses
AORN sterile processing department
standards and AORN standards for
cleaning to educate its staff on environmental
cleaning. " We also rely on SCA's
leadership to make sure we have the
foundations correct and are following
guidelines, " says Cotton.
" Caring for our patients is the core
of our mission and values, " says Berus.
" Understanding cleaning is part of ensuring
they all have the same sanitary
OR environment to prevent mistakes, "
she adds. ORM
-Jennifer Lubell is a freelance medical
and health policy writer based in
Rockville, Maryland.
Resources
ASC Quality Collaboration. Environmental
Infection Prevention Toolkit.
Vockley M. Innovation in ventilation for
healthcare. AAMI News & Media.
June 10, 2021.
CDC: Environmental Cleaning Procedures.
Best Practices for Environmental
Cleaning in Healthcare
Facilities.
www.ormanager.com
https://www.ormanager.com https://www.ascquality.org/ascqualitycollaboration/advancingascquality/environmentalinfectionpreventiontoolkit https://www.aami.org/news/article/innovation-in-ventilation-for-healthcare https://www.cdc.gov/hai/prevent/resource-limited/cleaning-procedures.html http://www.ormanager.com
OR Manager June 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of OR Manager June 2022
