Occupational and Environmental Health Nursing Commons^™

Retrospective Exploratory Pre And Post Evaluation Of Waste Anesthetic Gas Scavenging System And Association With Post Anesthesia Care Unit (Pacu) Nurse Health, Jessica Garibay, Dina A. Krenzischek, Ryan Macdonald, Elizabeth Card

HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine

Background

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recognizes the negative health impact of occupational exposure to anesthetic gases in the operating room. As a result, OSHA has implemented regulations, engineering controls, and regular air quality surveillance programs to protect surgical staff. However, immediate postoperative patients exhale waste anesthetic gases (WAGs) into the Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) environment, exposing nurses to occupational health risks, including headaches, fatigue, organ damage, cancer, and reproductive complications. The PACU lacks any regulations or even recognition of this safety issue; in fact, most nurses and leadership are unaware. One potential solution, a scavenging oxygen …

Laboratory Study Of A Waste Anesthetic Gas Mask Scavenging System To Reduce Airborne Pathogen Exposure For Health Care Workers In Post Anesthesia Care Units, Josh Horton, Trevor Lim, Andrew Kanach, John Moenning, James Mcglothlin, Bruce M. Applegate Sr.

HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine

Introduction

A scavenging oxygen mask system (SOMS) utilizing house vacuum has been demonstrated to significantly reduce exposure of post anesthesia care unit (PACU) health care workers (HCWs) to waste anesthetic gases (WAGs). Therefore, it was proposed that the same system could also be used to protect HCWs in the PACU by reducing Infectious Respiratory Particles (IRPs) spread from patients who may harbor airborne infective pathogens, such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis, certain strains of influenza, and SARS-CoV-2.

Methods

A life-like adult manikin head equipped with a bio-aerosol Collison nebulizer was set up to simulate patients exhausting pathogenic droplets. Further evaluation of …

Effectively Addressing Hospital-Acquired Pressure Injuries With A Multidisciplinary Approach, Nicki Roderman, Shandlie Wilcox, Andrew Beal

HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine

Background

Hospital-acquired pressure injuries (HAPIs) result in patient harm, discomfort, and even death, with an estimated 2.5 million HAPIs occurring annually in the United States. These pressure injuries from prolonged pressure on the skin and deeper tissues cause reduced blood flow and the breakdown of skin and tissues, resulting in wounds. Additionally, these injuries contribute to longer hospital stays and increased health care costs. Hospitals have programs aimed at reducing HAPIs as well as ongoing surveillance to identify new trends early on. This ongoing monitoring revealed a trend early at our institution that HAPIs were 66% higher than the national …

Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infection Reduction In Hemodialysis Patients Across 9 Hospitals And 3 States, Nicki Roderman, Kasadi Moore, Shandlie Wilcox, Jennifer Jellerson, Zoey Bridges

HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine

Background

This quality improvement project was initiated to reduce hospital-acquired catheter-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) in hospitalized patients receiving dialysis. A team dedicated to reducing hospital-acquired infections led the implementation of evidence-based interventions across all the included hospitals. This innovative approach demonstrated substantial enhancements in outcomes for patients on hemodialysis.

Methods

To enhance patient safety in patients receiving hemodialysis, new strategies were implemented, including (1) transitioning from a vendor model to an internal model, enabling dialysis program standardization, (2) empowering intensive care nurses with increased autonomy and ownership, (3) transitioning to a standardized dialysis machine, and (4) introducing chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) …