ORX Awards 2021 - Employee Safety - Safer Spaces From Day One

The opportunity to start a surgical facility from scratch is a rare one for any healthcare provider, so when Brandy Ginzinger, RN, was named director of surgical services at UCF Lake Nona Medical Center in Orlando, Fla., she seized the day — and employee safety motivated many of her decisions. Her efforts during the facility’s design phase earned her and the center the OR Excellence Award in Employee Safety.

Hired in April 2020 in anticipation of the facility’s eventual opening a year later, Ms. Ginzinger decided to create a surgical environment that nipped as many outdated, unsafe practices and habits in the bud as possible. The safety and well-being of the department’s employees were top-of-mind during that process. “As soon as we started looking over the supply inventory and equipment list that was being created for the new facility, immediate staff safety measures were being designed,” she says.

Regular cautery pencils were on the list, but Ms. Ginzinger wanted all of the new ORs to be surgical smoke-free from the get-go. “It was definitely a conscious effort,” she says. “We made sure that we opened on day one with only smoke evacuation pencils, so there was no temptation to use the regular ones. It makes it a whole lot harder for surgeons to say, ‘Well, we had them at some point.’”

Instead, surgeons were provided the chance before the facility opened to sample the smoke evacuation cautery pencils, helping them become comfortable with the product before they used it for the first time in a live surgery. “I thought there was going to be pushback, but I think it’s all in how you approach surgeons,” says Ms. Ginzinger. “We said, ‘This is going to be the cautery device that we’ll use because we’re opening completely smoke-free. Go ahead, touch it, feel it, make sure it meets your needs.’”

The trialing even allowed Ms. Ginzinger to get a consensus on which activation mechanism surgeons preferred on the smoke evacuation pencils. The surgeons opted for push-button over rocker switch, so the facility only needed to invest in one type. Meanwhile, suction irrigators that included a smoke evacuation component were also placed on the supply list and stocked in the ORs.

The employee safety effort for the new facility didn’t stop at smoke evacuation. For example, all sharps throughout the entire facility are safety-retracted models — a similar “all or nothing, this is it” proposal to the smoke evacuation pencils.

Ergonomics were particularly at the forefront, especially in the sterile processing department. Reprocessing techs often complain of being bent over at a sink for eight hours a day that’s either too high that they can’t reach all the way in, or too low so they’re forced to strain their back. To avoid those health and safety issues, Ms. Ginzinger acquired height-adjustable sinks. “They rise and lower at the push of a button so every staff member, regardless of their height or size, can comfortably work in that space for long periods of time,” she says. SPD staffers enjoy height-adjustable workstations as well. “They do have chairs, but if they decide to stand, their workstations go up and down at the touch of a button,” she says.

Many SPD pros are stoic and determined, plowing through the pain without telling supervisors of their discomfort in the mistaken belief that it’s simply part of the job. Ms. Ginzinger didn’t want any of them, whom she calls “silent heroes,” to suffer in silence. “If we can give them the proper tools, it’s going to make them safer and happier employees who can focus on patient safety needs,” she says.

The height-adjustable philosophy also extends to circulating nurses. In most ORs, says Ms. Ginzinger, circulators work with workstations on wheels, which they sit down in front of during cases. She instead acquired 24-inch-by-48-inch workspaces that rise up and down with a button tap. “This way, nurses can stand or sit while they work,” she says. “It’s been a huge staff satisfier.”

Another employee safety factor Ms. Ginzinger addressed in the new facility was safe patient transfers. In many facilities, a typical transfer device, which resembles a small duffel bag, is placed on the floor and turned on to inflate. Not surprisingly, this isn’t great for the provider’s back or knees. Instead, she purchased lateral air-assisted transfer devices that are much easier to use. “Instead of laying horizontal, they stand vertically upright on a mobile cart,” she says. “The ‘on’ button is at waist height, so you’re not bending down to inflate the mattress.”

Despite all of this thoughtful planning, Ms. Ginzinger is aware that enhancing employee safety is an ongoing process, not a one-and-done initiative. She continues to focus on keeping her team healthy and happy, and empowers them to help create a safer work environment where they know their concerns are being heard and used to make positive change. OSM