Ideas That Work: PPE Police

Our hospital used to have an issue with surgical team members wearing scrubs out of the facility, washing them at home and wearing them back to work, habits that went against proper laundering protocols and prevented us from knowing for certain that clean attire was worn in the perioperative environment. To round up the offenders, clinical managers and hospital leaders volunteered to serve as Scrub Rangers. They wore purple badges and stood armed with clipboards outside entrances to the hospital. The Rangers stopped scrub-wearing outlaws, jotted down their names and reported them to their supervisors, who issued non-punitive verbal warnings. It was an effective and fun way to reinforce the importance of wearing properly cared for PPE.

June Van Hoose, RN, CNOR
Parkland Health & Hospital System
Dallas, Texas
[email protected]