HSHS St. Joseph's Hospital Breese issued the following announcement on Nov. 3
HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital Breese announced today that it has earned the Go Clear Award™ for its achievement in eliminating hazardous smoke from its surgical procedures. The Go Clear Award is presented by the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) to recognize health care facilities that have committed to providing increased surgical patient and health care worker safety by implementing practices that eliminate smoke caused by the use of lasers and electrosurgery devices during surgery. St. Joseph’s Hospital earned its award by undergoing comprehensive surgical smoke education and testing and for providing the medical devices and resources necessary to evacuate surgical smoke during all smoke-generating procedures.
Surgical smoke is the unwanted by-product of energy-generating devices that are used in 90% of all surgeries.
The average daily impact of surgical smoke to the surgical team is equivalent to inhaling 27-30 unfiltered cigarettes and absorption of this can increase health risks for surgical staff and patients.
"Total evacuation needs to become the standard for all procedures that generate surgical smoke,” said Linda Groah, MSN, RN, CNOR, NEA-BC, FAAN, CEO/Executive Director of AORN. “With this award, HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital Breese is demonstrating its deep commitment to the health and safety of its staff and community.”
“HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital is dedicated to providing quality care to all our patients, colleagues and physicians and this award is another example of our commitment to their safety,” said St. Joseph’s Hospital President and CEO Chris Klay. “I am proud of our surgical services team for taking the steps necessary to achieve this recognition.”
Original source can be found here.
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