Ideas That Work: Visual Cue

We devised a simple method to let each other know when ORs have been turned over and are ready for the next patient. A staff member places a magnetic button embossed with our facility’s logo on the metal frames of the OR doorways. This one simple step improves efficiencies by immediately alerting staff that the next patient can be brought back for surgery. If you don’t have metal doorframes at your facility, there are other simple ways to signify a room has been cleaned. For instance, you can secure laminated placeholders on doors with double-sided tape or Velcro and slip in cards that say “clean” inside them after the turnover process has been completed.

Victoria Wiltshire, MBA, RN
SightTrust Eye Institute
Sunrise, Fla.
[email protected]