SAFE AND SECURE Keep unsterile instruments behind closed doors to avoid mixing sterile and unsterile items.

Sterility Assurance
Lock Up Instruments Not Yet Autoclaved

The central sterile room in our small facility sits adjacent to our 3 ORs, so members of the surgical team have easy access to needed instruments. During hectic times of the schedule, however, there's always the potential for them to grab items that have been wrapped, but not yet sterilized. That's why we keep wrapped instruments that are waiting to be autoclaved in a locked storage cabinet. Every member of the staff knows the numerical code to the lock, which creates an extra step and gives them time to stop and think before they inadvertently grab unsterile instruments.

Nicole Sievert, RN, BSN
Granville Health System
Oxford, N.C.
[email protected]