Ideas That Work: Celebrate Your Zeros

Practical pearls from your colleagues.

It’s a common practice for surgical facilities to celebrate number-specific milestones — the first robotic surgery, the 100th, 500th or 1,000th total joints case, and so on. These are all wonderful reasons to throw a party, but Orlando (Fla.) Health Horizon West Hospital reminds us not to forget the importance of zero.

PARTY ON, WAYNE Orlando (Fla.) Health Horizon West Hospital marked two years without a single surgical site infection by throwing a celebration for the perioperative staff behind the impressive milestone.

Recently, the facility celebrated an impressive two-year run with zero surgical site infections (SSIs) and marked the occasion with decorations, food and, of course, cake. The event focused on the fact that it was a team effort that made zero a reality.

“The perioperative team is essential to the prevention of SSIs, serving in various roles as clinicians, educators and leaders to implement evidence-based practices and improve patient outcomes,” said Jamie Renfro, MSN, BSN, RN, director of surgical services for Horizon West, in a recent LinkedIn post about the momentous occasion. “Working in a fast-paced and complex setting, perioperative team members identify patient safety as their most important intervention. Prevention of SSIs is of critical importance and achieved through consistent and rigid adherence to infection prevention standards and clinical guidelines.” OSM