Looking for a creative way to consistently reward your staff’s ideas and efforts and reinforce your company’s core values? Consider an initiative like the “Heart, Brain and Courage Awards,” a daily recognition program created by...

Members of perioperative teams must remember complex protocols — and know how to apply them in practice. McDonnell Outpatient Surgery Center at Piedmont Atlanta is part of a health system-wide safety program...

Hopefully, there’s a robust hand hygiene culture among the staff at your facility. But what about your patients? They might not be as aware of the importance of keeping their hands clean during the course of their care. That’s why...

Physicians at the endoscopy center at Florida Medical Center in Tampa perform between 75 and 120 cases a day, so the facility is always buzzing. At a recent meeting called to identify daily obstacles and brainstorm...

The outpatient surgery department at St. David’s South Austin Medical Center in Texas came up with a caring way to support patients who undergo dilation and curettage procedures after sudden miscarriages. The patients...

The pandemic has inspired healthcare facilities to invest more resources to support their hardworking providers. ChristianaCare in Newark, Del., was ahead of the trend when in 2016 it developed The Center for Worklife Wellbeing,...

The National Ambulatory Surgery Center in San Jose, Calif., shares a small campus with other medical offices. Last spring, a man barged into the center’s administrative suite, where Marisa Ynchausti, RN, BSN, was working alone....

You want to know the likes, dislikes and quirks of every staff member on your team, but it’s not always easy to get to know the person behind the mask. To remedy this issue, one problem-solving director came up with a simple way...

During fire drills — as well as in the event of an actual fire emergency — some facilities place a magnet on the outside of a room that says “Checked” or similar language to confirm that a room has been evacuated. This ensures...

Last-minute changes to the surgical schedule, surgeon requests or cases that require specialized instrumentation could throw a wrench into how smoothly instruments flow through your facility. Installing a whiteboard in the hall...

Discharge specialists at Vance Thompson Vision in Sioux Falls, S.D., recover patients and help them to their cars when they’re ready to head home. “We decided to prioritize discharge efficiency, which allows for better...

Staff appreciation gestures have been a mainstay of the first year of operations at National Ambulatory Surgery Center in San Jose, Calif. Whether it’s a more formal designation for the Employee of the Quarter...

Orthopaedic Associates of Michigan (OAM) at Midtowne, a freestanding surgery center in Grand Rapids, provided free lunches to joint replacement patients and the person who accompanies them to the facility after launching...

Staff at Einstein Endoscopy Center in Blue Bell, Pa., used to receive annual ergonomics training based on a standardized program designed by experts who work for the large health system that owns the facility. The instruction...

Sometimes all it takes to put younger patients at ease before surgery is a friend — a furry one they can squeeze to death in the OR and take home with them after the procedure is over. That’s the idea behind...

When Regions Hospital in St. Paul, Minn., wanted to step up its sustainability efforts, placing more recycling bins around the facility was a great start. But too many staff were still uncertain about what should be recycled...

Days fill up fast when you’re managing a busy surgical facility, and it’s often difficult to remember — or find the time — to get out from behind your desk to connect with staff, see how they’re doing and answer questions they have...

Forcing loved ones to sit in their vehicles in the parking lot as part of COVID-19 restrictions made The Toledo (Ohio) Clinic Outpatient Surgery Center’s job of providing the best possible patient experience more difficult...

Supply chain issues during the pandemic caused deliveries of Diet Coke, Mountain Dew and other sodas to be delayed at Vance Thompson Vision in Sioux Falls, S.D. When the soda deliveries went away in 2020, the facility’s leadership...

It can be difficult to keep busy employees present — physically and mentally — during staff meetings. That’s why leadership at Heartland Surgery Center in Kearney, Neb., offers three separate gift card drawings...