Many experts recommend deep breathing exercises and a “think before you speak” approach when you are confronted by challenging or stressful situations....

My role embodies all things safety. I’m responsible for promoting safe behaviors, raising awareness about potential hazards, encouraging reporting, auditing...

Malignant hyperthermia (MH) is a rare hypermetabolic reaction a patient may have in response to a medication given during general anesthesia....

Making improvements to your facility’s safety culture is no easy task. While healthcare staff work hard to provide the best care for their patients, safety continues...

Behind every needlestick or sharps injury is a story of how it came to happen. Understanding this story, through reporting and auditing of the incident...

Healthcare providers come to work every day to help and heal. When there’s an unexpected outcome — especially one that harms a patient — they tend to be...

Your surgeon and OR team perform a textbook surgery that leaves the patient with only the tiniest of incisions at the surgical site. Unfortunately, that same patient also...

The sterile processing department (SPD) is the heartbeat of any healthcare facility, and its ability to safely handle and sanitize instruments is key to keeping patients safe...

You may be hearing your employees, but are you truly listening to them? As a leader with a multitude of responsibilities that ultimately fall on your shoulders each day...

Many ambulatory surgery centers are still using a single sink to reprocess endoscopes, but that could be a thing of the past in the next few years.

Achieving smoke-free ORs in the procedural setting at PIH Health Downey (Calif.) Hospital was one of the hardest practice challenges I’ve led...

For healthcare providers, the shared primary goal is clear: Keeping their patients and their team members safe and free from harm....

I understand the need to advertise, I really do. But it still annoys me. Especially on local broadcasting where a program scheduled for 30 minutes gives you...

If you aren’t intimately familiar with the CMS Infection Control (IC) worksheet, you’ll probably want to make it a top priority — and the sooner, the better....

Establishing and maintaining a healthy work environment (HWE) is vital for the well-being of healthcare professionals and the delivery of quality patient care....

Every October, National Sterile Processing Week takes place (Oct. 8 to 14 this year). It’s an opportunity for those who care for surgical instruments and equipment to be...

You pull into a spacious parking lot, easily find a spot and make the short walk to the brand new, state-of-the-art surgery center where you’ve scheduled your first...

Being correctly identified and addressed by healthcare staff is every patient’s right. Unfortunately, it’s fairly common for transgender and gender-diverse patients...

An acronym is a great way to remember something important. It can also make the process of speaking up when you are concerned about a potential safety issue...

Want to participate in International Infection Prevention Week (IIPW) — it’s Oct. 15-21 — but haven’t had the time to come up with anything?