Tracking helps stop hidden hazards in linen
Tracking helps stop hidden hazards in linen
Laundry task force reduces sharps risks
The risk of exposure to bloodborne pathogens can occur far from the hospital bed or operating room when needles and other sharps are carelessly left in the linens. Lebanon (OR) Community Hospital was able to greatly reduce these hidden hazards with tracking, education, and sharps elimination.
When laundry manager LaRee Noel raised concerns about the items found in laundry, Deborah Fell-Carlson, RN, COHN-S, employee health coordinator and safety officer, helped bring together a laundry hazard task force. The task force included safety, employee health, and housekeeping representatives from the health system’s three hospitals and long-term care facility, as well as the laundry manager.
Sometimes, laundry workers would find syringes or suture needles wrapped in sheets. "Some of them are unused. We consider it a close call," says Fell-Carlson. "It is a potential for an injury. When you’re removing linen from a bag, you don’t want to get any kind of injury," she explains.
One emphasis of the task force has been to track items. "We decided we needed to have accountability at the user level," says Fell-Carlson.
Color coding helps track origin of needles
Now, when a laundry worker finds a hazardous item, he or she fills out a reporting form that includes information on the facility it came from. The different color of scrubs in the bag often identifies the department, as well. "They put that identifying information on the form. [Noel] gives that form to the point of contact at the site where the linen was generated," explains Fell-Carlson. "That person researches where the problem originated. The manager of that department has to tell us what corrective action [he or she has] taken."
Since one hospital may be much larger than another, comparisons are based on the pounds of laundry processed. In January and February, the health system processed 346,254 pounds of laundry and found four sharps. Fell-Carlson hopes to lower that to zero.
The hospital system has taken other measures beyond reporting. The hospitals seek to eliminate sharps, as much as possible, and are implementing safer devices. They also sterilize a magnetic strip with the suture tray so used sutures can be dropped on it. "We haven’t found any suture needles at all" since that change, says Fell-Carlson. Managers also provided inservice training to staff about the new tracking of found sharps. "I think the reporting system has set up an air of competition," she says. "They don’t want the dubious distinction of having the most."
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