Special Edition on Operating Room Imperatives Special Edition- Operating Room Imperatives | Page 4
from the editor
h ealthcarehygienemagazine
Nooks and Crannies
Causing Havoc with
Surfaces and Equipment
in the OR
N
ooks and crannies. If you’re old enough, you may remember
those classic Thomas’s English Muffins commercials from the late
1980s, where breakfast-eaters could be seen savoring how the butter/
marmalade/topping of choice seeped into all of those tiny caverns in
the dough and trapped them until they were subsequently devoured.
Fast forward to 2020, when nooks and crannies are back in the
spotlight, but not in a good way. Cracks, crevices and other types of
fractures in the materials from which surfaces and medical equipment
are manufactured harbor microorganisms and nearly
impossible to clean and disinfect correctly and effectively. It’s
akin to the current issue in healthcare with medical devices
such as endoscopes that are complex and poorly designed
from the standpoint of cleanability and ease in following
manufacturers’ instructions for use. It’s a key issue for
perioperative team members, as degraded materials and
surfaces in the operating room (OR) expose patients and
healthcare workers to transmission of pathogens and
expose healthcare facilities to adverse events.
We invite you to check out a special digital issue
exploring and explaining this critical issue of compatibility at:
https://www.healthcarehygienemagazine.com/special-editions/
In this special edition, you’ll read the perspectives of clinical experts,
biomedical engineering, value analysis, consulting and manufacturing, as
they discuss the challenges of the compatibility of surface materials with
chemical cleaners and disinfectants. As these experts expressed many
times, we must find the happy medium between killing the bugs and
killing the materials/equipment – they are not mutually exclusive, and
it requires communication and collaboration between all stakeholders.
From a financial perspective, healthcare facilities are spending hundreds
of thousands, if not millions, of dollars replacing damaged surfaces and
equipment. But equally and perhaps even more importantly, failures from
degraded materials in the OR and elsewhere can contribute to adverse
patient outcomes.
We hope you’ll find the information in this special edition eye-opening,
informative, and compelling enough to share with anyone affected by
these compatibility issues. We also hope you’ll become empowered to
be part of the solution, as we demand better for patients, healthcare
professionals and the community.
Until next month, bust those bugs!
Kelly M. Pyrek
Editor & Publisher
[email protected]
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Kelly M. Pyrek
editor & publisher
[email protected]
A.G. Hettinger, CPA
president & CFO
Patti Valdez
art director
Mary Johnson
sales and marketing specialist
[email protected]
Linda Lybert
business development consultant
J. Christine Phillips
customer service manager
Send inquiries to:
[email protected]
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Operating Room Imperatives 2020 • www.healthcarehygienemagazine.com