SHARP ALERT An orange safety mat alerts reprocessing techs that sharps are in the decontamination tray.

SHARPS SAFETY
Orange Mats Also Create Sterile Processing Safe Zone

Once the case is over, do you toss away those bright orange mats used to designate a neutral zone for the hands-free transfer of sharps? We found another use for them: to alert our sterile processing staff to the presence of sharps. We place knife handles, hooks, drill bits and all other sharps atop the orange mat so that our SPD staff know right away there are sharps in the decontamination tray.

Christopher M. Lomboy, RN, BSN, RNFA, MBA
Kaiser San Jose Medical Center Ambulatory Surgery Unit
San Jose, Calif.
[email protected]