Ideas That Work: Has That Pre-op Bay Been Cleaned?

NEXT, PLEASE If you see "sanitized" on the back of a clipboard in a patient bay, you know that the room has been cleaned and is ready for a new patient.

Has That Pre-op Bay Been Cleaned?

As an ophthalmic surgery center, we don't leave a lot of trash behind in our pre-op bays, so it's hard to tell at a glance if a bay has been cleaned and is ready to receive the next patient. Our solution: We taped a strip of paper emblazoned with sanitized to the back of the clipboards that hold the nurse's pre-op questionnaires. Whoever cleans the room just turns the clipboard upside down after she's done. If a nurse sees sanitized, she knows it's a good bay to put the patient in.

Melody Hargrove, BSN, RN
Ophthalmology Surgery Center of Dallas (Texas)
[email protected]