Daily planning limits flash sterilization

Daily planning limits flash sterilization

One step that helped dramatically decrease flash sterilization at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, OH, was daily planning between the OR and central processing, according to Roberta R. Timmerman, RN, CPN, MSN, perioperative services education nurse specialist, Nationwide Children's Hospital.

This meeting facilitated quick turnaround of limited quantity instruments, she says.

The OR charge nurse met with the charge person in central processing at the beginning of the day, Timmerman says. They would discuss, for example, how many cases would need video cameras and discuss the plan to reprocess the cameras for the day. "It was a very quick meeting, but it helped central processing plan for the current day," she says.