It’s a common practice for surgical facilities to celebrate number-specific milestones — the first robotic surgery, the 100th, 500th or 1,000th total joints case, and so on....

Anyone who has ever turned over an OR knows that all disinfectant wipes aren’t created equal....

When it comes to hand hygiene, simple messaging can work wonders. Infection prevention leader Nicole Nomides, MT(ASCP), MS, CIC, FAPIC, can attest to that fact from...

Selecting the right antiseptic and using proper skin-prepping technique are obviously key to keeping patients free from infections, but so is using the correct-size applicator....

Technologies such as automated endoscope reprocessors (AERs), borescopes and specialized drying cabinets help staff at busy GI centers seamlessly perform a steady...

The “important part” of the surgery is over, and the sense of relief in the OR is palpable....

Double-gloving and sharps safety are separate but equally important measures. Unfortunately, both areas can present major problems for leaders....

Operating room temperatures have long been a point of contention among clinical staff and surgical teams....

At first blush, skin prep seems like a relatively straightforward process where nothing could go wrong....

Should facilities screen all patients for Staphylococcus aureus, or just some? Should they decolonize all patients without screening first?...

It’s a battle that never ends: disinfection of the many fixed and mobile surfaces in your ORs after every case, performed as quickly and as thoroughly as possible....

Houston Methodist Hospital experienced a spike in reportable surgical site infections (SSIs) after open abdominal hysterectomies in 2023....

When the wildfires raged in California earlier this year, it wasn’t just firefighters who were concerned about the impact of the smoke....

Trusted associations strongly recommend warming patients throughout the perioperative process and an array of studies highlight the multiple benefits of this...

“Clean in, clean out” is the mantra that acute care teams use to keep staff hands clean and patients safe from transmissible infection. Of course, busy surgical team members...

I love my job. I have always enjoyed educating new ASC leaders and watching them grow professionally....

One weekend each month, all the rooms at Knoxville (Tenn.) Orthopaedic Center are treated with liquid and vaporized isopropyl alcohol, a protocol that serves as an...

Missing instruments. Wrong instruments. Contaminated instruments. Each creates a losing proposition for surgery, from costly delays to frustrated OR staff and surgeons to...

The person at ASCs charged with overseeing practices to prevent surgical site infections (SSIs) usually has another role (or three), so it’s crucial for centers to count on the latest...

Have you checked on the quality of the water that’s coming into and moving around your facility, particularly the water that your sterile processing department (SPD) uses...