ASHRM 2022, held in Boston, MA, was a fantastic experience. With more and more healthcare conferences returning to in-person formats, conferences like ASHRM provide attendees and exhibitors with rich networking, learning, and growing experiences we’ve all been craving since pre-COVID times. After speaking with some ASHRM Board Members, we learned that attendance was close to …
Every year in March, the healthcare community recognizes the importance of patient safety during Patient Safety Awareness Week. While the promise to “do no harm” has been around since ancient Greece, the study and prevention of adverse medical events didn’t blossom until the 1990s with two major publications about patient safety. In the 30 years …
Key Takeaways from Patient Safety Awareness Week 2022 Read More »
The pandemic has caused quite a few shortages lately. Food shortages, gas shortages, and supply chain issues are all over the news. The most glaring shortage, however, is the staffing shortage. And in the healthcare field, those staffing shortages can have deadly consequences for patients. The healthcare staffing shortage not only leads to greater burnout …
Healthcare Staffing Shortage Is a Patient Safety Issue Read More »
In the general population, hypothermia is a potentially deadly condition that often requires medical intervention. But during surgical procedures, hypothermia is a real patient safety concern. Both localized and general anesthesia can cause dramatic core temperature swings, increasing the likelihood of infection and endangering patients. What is hypothermia? Hypothermia occurs when the core body temperature …
How to Prevent Hypothermia in the Operating Room Read More »
Igniting up to 70% of surgical fires every year, electrosurgical units (ESUs) are some of the most common ignition sources in the operating room. In addition to fiber optic light cables accidents and on top of the fire risk, electrosurgical accidents can lead to painful burns and injuries. With this alarming statistic in mind, every …
What happens when a patient leaves the operating room with a pair of scissors or a sponge still inside their body? For thousands of patients each year, retained surgical items (RSIs) extend their pain and recovery time and leave hospitals’ reputations on shaky ground. Surgical counts and cavity sweeps are the traditional methods for preventing …
Communication is Key: Prevent Retained Surgical Items Read More »
During Fire Safety Month, GloShield wants your hospital to be prepared for anything－especially surgical fires. We all know how it feels to be overwhelmed and overworked, but for healthcare workers, burnout is a patient safety issue. Staff burnout is more likely to lead to major mistakes that put patients at risk for surgical burns and …
Reducing Staff Burnout is a Patient Safety Measure Read More »
This National Surgical Technologists Week, our very own Angie Drapeau, a Certified Surgical Technologist, Former Faculty Instructor – Surgical Technology Educator, and member of AST and the Florida State Assembly of Surgical Technologists, recognizes and celebrates how essential surgical technologists are in surgery and healthcare. Through her years of experience in healthcare as a surgical …
National Surgical Technologists Week 2021 – Celebrating Surgical Techs Read More »
If you’re gearing up to introduce GloShield fiber-optic light cable covers into your ORs, you’re no doubt familiar with the GloShield Launch Checklist. And while this simple document is easy to follow and to the point, we wanted to take the opportunity to share additional context, best practices and a more in-depth explanation of each …
Surgical fire safety requires constant vigilance and the knowledge of the proactive and preventative steps that the perioperative care team must take to ensure patient safety. Furthermore, part of every hospital fire safety checklist should also ensure that everyone knows their responsibilities in the case of a Code Red. Going through the Do’s and Don’ts …
