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Life Safety: What Admins Need to Know
62 Plays7 days ago
Today’s guest is Richard Parker, Associate Director of Life Safety & Physical Environment at ACHC—the Accreditation Commission for Health Care. We talk about what life safety includes, what surveyors are really looking for, how to document properly, and the most common deficiencies ACHC sees during surveys.
Reminder: the ASCA conference is just two weeks away! If you haven’t registered yet, online registration closes Friday, April 18th, so now's the time to register if you haven’t yet. HST will be there at Booth #303, right up front in the exhibit hall. Stop by to say hello, grab a copy of our State of the Industry report, take a quiz for a chance to win a prize, and check out all our latest solutions. We hope to see you there.
Resources Mentioned:
- Closing the ASC Tech Gap: EHRs, AI and Beyond
- How ASCs can flip the script on anesthesia challenges
- Streamlining the PACU Experience for Total Joints Patients
- The dog-tor will see you now
- Learn more about ACHC Webinars: https://www.achc.org/
Brought to you by HST Pathways.
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Show Format
00:00:01
Speaker
Welcome to This Week in Surgery Centers. If you're in the ASC industry, then you're in the right place. Every week, we'll start the episode off by sharing an interesting conversation we had with our featured guest.
00:00:12
Speaker
And then we'll close the episode by recapping the latest news impacting surgery centers. We're excited to share with you what we have. So let's get started and see what the industry's been up to.
Guest Introduction: Richard Parker from ACHC
00:00:27
Speaker
Hi, everyone. Here's what you can expect on today's episode. Today's guest is Richard Parker, Associate Director of Life Safety and Physical Environment at ACHC, the Accreditation Commission for Healthcare.
00:00:40
Speaker
We haven't spent much time on this podcast yet diving into life safety, so I'm excited to have Richard here today to break it all down for us. We talk about what life safety includes, what surveyors are really looking for, how to document properly, and the most common deficiencies ACHC sees during surveys.
00:00:58
Speaker
In our news recap, we'll touch on the latest in ASC tech, anesthesia-related challenges, and ways to streamline the PACU experience. And of course, we'll wrap it up with a feel-good story. This one's about how dogs are helping in the fight against cystic fibrosis.
00:01:14
Speaker
And lastly, the ASCA conference is just two weeks away. So if you haven't registered yet, online registration actually closes this Friday, April 18th. So now's the time to register if you have not yet.
00:01:26
Speaker
HSC will be there at booth number 303, right up front in the exhibit hall. So please stop by to say hello, grab a copy of our state of the industry report, take a quiz to win a prize, and check out all of our latest solutions.
00:01:40
Speaker
We hope to see you there.
Richard's Background and Role at ACHC
00:01:43
Speaker
And with that, I hope everyone enjoys the episode and here's what's going on this week in surgery centers.
00:01:52
Speaker
Hi, Richard. Welcome to the podcast. Hey there. Good morning. Can you please share a little bit about yourself with our listeners and also your ASC experience? You bet.
00:02:04
Speaker
So my name is Richard Parker. I'm with a company called ACHC. We are an ASC accreditor based out of North Carolina. I'm actually here in Tucson, Arizona, and lived here for most of my life.
00:02:19
Speaker
In my role here at ACHC, I'm the Associate Director for Life Safety and the Physical Environment.
Understanding Life Safety in ASCs
00:02:24
Speaker
And I've been with a company full-time for about three years and had been a part-time surveyor for five years prior to that.
00:02:35
Speaker
Very cool. Well, thank you so much for sharing all of that. And I'm really excited to have you on today to cover a topic we have not covered yet, which is life safety. So let's just get right into it. What does life safety encompass in an ASC setting?
00:02:52
Speaker
All right, so that's a pretty broad question when you really dig into it. So the life safety is talking about the life safety code, which basically addresses fire safety within a facility.
00:03:05
Speaker
And the life safety code covers lots of different occupancies. It could be anything from doctor's clinic, like a business occupancy, to a healthcare occupancy, which would be a hospital and everything in between.
00:03:21
Speaker
And so a Life Safety Code has two chapters for ambulatory health care occupancy, ah whether it's existing or new. And that's where we get, that's the starting place for how we decide what we're going to survey for an ASC when it comes to life safety.
00:03:38
Speaker
And then where the question expands is that the life safety code also has what's called a reference chapter. And that's where it references all other versions of code.
00:03:51
Speaker
I'll give you an example. An ASC will typically have a backup power system, such as a diesel generator. And so the life safety code says if you have a diesel life so or diesel generator,
00:04:06
Speaker
you're going to refer to NFPA 110, the 2010 edition. So it's like you get the life safety code and it's a pretty thick book. But then once you look at the reference chapter, it's like you just opened up a library of code.
00:04:21
Speaker
So it's a lot bigger than just life safety. Sure. And how do agencies like CMS and yours and other accrediting bodies influence life safety requirements? Sure.
00:04:35
Speaker
Well, we get a lot of our influence from CMS, of course, especially when it comes to our deemed program. And so the deemed program means we are surveying in place of CMS and they have accredited us with a deemed status to say that, yes, your survey process is equivalent to the CMS process or at least meets the requirements of the CMS process.
Life Safety Code and CMS Adoption
00:05:01
Speaker
And so when it comes to the life safety code, CMS adopts versions of the life safety code and says, this is what we want you to survey entities to. So in this case, when they said we are adopting the life safety code, they told us we're going to adopt the 2012 edition of the life safety code.
00:05:21
Speaker
And that's where you're going to survey all the ASCs. Now, I'm sure your audience is going to be curious because 2012, that's 13 years ago. I was just thinking that.
00:05:34
Speaker
Right? So CMS, they actually made that decision 2016. And in 2016, they officially adopted 2012 edition of the Life Safety Code. And prior to that, up until 2016, we were using the 2000 edition of the Life Safety Code.
00:05:47
Speaker
and prior to that up until two thousand and sixteen we were using the two thousand edition of the lie safety code So it doesn't happen often where CMS is ready to move on to the next edition.
00:06:02
Speaker
And for that reason, we're still on the 2012. And if you look or think about that cadence where we adopt, we moved away from 2000 life safety code in 2016, it may still be a few years before we progress to a later edition of code.
00:06:20
Speaker
And so when I spoke with CMS about this, one of the things they said was, we look at current code to see if there is a significant change to the code, or is it a better or, i guess, equivalent requirement that keeps our facilities safe?
00:06:39
Speaker
And so for an example, one of the new code requirements has to do with exit lights. And in the current code, or 2012 code, it says you have to inspect those every 30 days.
00:06:52
Speaker
And in the later edition, it that 30-day requirement is no longer there. And so that would be ah lessening of the requirement. And so when I asked CMS about that, they said, well, we don't feel like that addition of the life safety code actually makes ASCs or hospitals safer.
00:07:10
Speaker
So we're not ready to go there yet. And so that was just a glimpse into the way they think about it. So although the CMS requirements are pretty dated, it's something that I hope everybody's pretty well used to by now since it's been in place for almost a decade.
00:07:26
Speaker
Yeah, I guess there's no excuse not to be familiar with them if you've been around for 20 years and and not much has changed. That's right. But going back just to use that example you had just shared about testing the exit lights every 30 days, what does the documentation process look like for the surgery center?
00:07:48
Speaker
Yeah, it's really pretty simple. I typically will see this in a log. And normally it's done by hand. So you would have a list of your exit lights or exit signs on your log.
00:08:00
Speaker
And it's just a visual inspection. So the inspection is really quite simple. You're just making sure that the lamps are still good, that the sign is lit up, and then you move on to the next one. So a typical ASC may have less than a dozen exit signs.
00:08:18
Speaker
And so on less than a sheet of paper, you would have your exit signs listed and was it tested pass or fail? Check off pass or fail and you're good to go.
00:08:29
Speaker
So that can be pretty simple. I usually see these Well, I should say I sometimes see these logs combined with other functions. So for example, another monthly function is inspection of your fire extinguishers.
00:08:44
Speaker
And so some people will put exit signs on the top half of their log and fire extinguishers on the bottom half and basically killing two birds with one stone while they're doing that activity.
00:08:56
Speaker
And so the fire extinguishers is very similar. It's just you're inspecting it to make sure the gauge is in the green, that it's hung properly, and then you're basically moving on to the next. That's what you're checking on monthly.
00:09:08
Speaker
So both are pretty easy visual inspections.
Documentation and Compliance in ASCs
00:09:12
Speaker
ASC's moved out through those pretty quickly. Sure. Yeah, I'm picturing when I go into a public bathroom and there's the laminated sign on next to the exit door of, you know, who cleaned the bathroom last or when it was last looked at. So very similar to that.
00:09:27
Speaker
In a way. It can't be ah the dry erase type thing. It would have to be a documented log. So during a survey, we would go back to the last 12 months at minimum and make sure that you've been checking those off every month. and when we see a gap, that's where a finding occurs.
00:09:45
Speaker
So the documentation has to be maintained. And then that's basically what we're going to review because, know, if you only have that laminated sign, we can only go back one month and we've got to see all 12.
00:09:57
Speaker
Sure. And as a surveyor, would you recommend that hand log approach? Or would you prefer to see like a digital version somewhere? Our company ACHC, we accept both, and I think most accreditors do.
00:10:13
Speaker
So if you have an electronic system for tracking these, that's not a problem. Just a word of advice, make sure that the person who maintains the electronic system has a backup person.
00:10:28
Speaker
So I've gotten into some situations where The person is on vacation because our surveys are an unannounced. And if the backup doesn't know where to find stuff, then that electronic system fails you.
Common Deficiencies and Emergency Preparedness
00:10:42
Speaker
The other thing I've seen with the electronic version is, and this was in a hospital I surveyed, where the facility manager really wasn't as, ah guess, practiced in accessing their documents And so it's like the stress of the survey is already pretty high.
00:11:01
Speaker
And then when you can't find something that you know is there, It just tends to snowball on you. And so practice using the system, practice it with your backup, just to make sure that you can access the electronic system during a survey.
00:11:17
Speaker
That's why a personal choice, I always went with paper just because I could always put my hands on the paper. And so that's either way is acceptable. It's just up to you.
00:11:28
Speaker
Sure. Yeah, that makes sense. Switching gears a little bit. What are some common deficiencies and risks that you see?
00:11:38
Speaker
Well, in the life safety chapter, I mentioned that there's lots of referenced code in that chapter, or excuse me, that code. So for example, emergency generators.
00:11:50
Speaker
What I find is that there's a lot of ASC folks that they know they have a generator, but they aren't really familiar with the code. And as expected, you would rely on your vendor to make sure it's being maintained properly.
00:12:03
Speaker
And so there's a kind of a gap in knowledge of what the code requirements are, what the frequencies of testing are. When we wrote our standards for the life safety chapter, we tried to incorporate those requirements into our standards just so that it would be easier for the ASC folks to understand, here's what I have to do weekly, here's what I have to do monthly, this is an annual requirement.
00:12:27
Speaker
So hopefully that helps folks. But what we find is that ASCs sometimes don't know what they're expected to do. And so we see most of our findings in life safety have to do with the emergency generator testing and inspection.
00:12:43
Speaker
So for example, there's a visual inspection every week and then there's a monthly load test. there's It goes on to an annual fuel quality test. And it's another one of those things where you have to know the code.
00:12:58
Speaker
There may be an annual load test requirement. And unfortunately, it's one of those answers that it always comes up. I'll get a question. Do we have to do the annual load bank test?
00:13:11
Speaker
And my answer is, it depends. And people hate that answer. But that's where a lot of this stuff comes from with the life safety code. And so I try to work with the ASC and say, OK, well, let's figure this out together.
00:13:24
Speaker
And so like in that example, an annual load bank test would be required if the monthly test did not meet the 30% rule for its load.
00:13:35
Speaker
And so then gets into the question, well, how do I calculate the 30% of kilowatts on my generator? And so there's a little bit of math that goes into that. And then it's basically the ASC's responsibility to prove to us that it met the 30% requirement or we're going to do the annual test, the load bank test.
00:13:58
Speaker
And so it puts some of the burden on the ASC. surveyor is not there to do math. ah So the ASC needs to do the math and prove that, yes, they're meeting the requirement.
00:14:09
Speaker
So I would say the generator is probably one of the main deficiencies we see. And another reason I think I see that, or at least my perception is, has to do with some of the turnover ah with leadership at ASCs.
00:14:24
Speaker
So I see that in hospitals too, where the leadership turnover, especially in the five years since COVID started, there's been quite a churn of leadership turnover.
00:14:36
Speaker
And so there's also a three-year requirement for generators. And if your ASC administrator has been there for one year, they don't know the past history. They haven't thought to look at it yet.
00:14:47
Speaker
And then we find a gap when we come in for surveys. So there's a handful of things like that I think has to do with some of the turnover. Yeah, that's actually a perfect segue. Who oversees life safety requirements internally? is it an admin, a committee?
00:15:08
Speaker
I rarely see it as a committee. Usually there is a designated person. So it could be the ASC administrator or the office manager. It's really not specified by us.
00:15:22
Speaker
All we require is that you do the work. So typically it would be someone in charge of that program for the ASC. So often id say most often I see the ASC administrator take responsibility for it.
00:15:36
Speaker
And so that could be a nurse or a business manager or whoever, but rarely I see that as a group function of a committee. And just to give you a little bit different perspective on it, I would see the same way in a hospital, even though it's a little bit more complex than an ASC, there's usually one person assigned to it.
00:15:56
Speaker
So that may be the facility manager in smaller hospitals, or if the hospital is large enough, they may have a designated safety officer, and that's their whole job. So it depends based on the size of the hospital, but in an ASC, it's typically the administrator.
Training and Drills for ASC Staff
00:16:13
Speaker
Got it. And how should ASC admins train their staff, or ah let me rephrase, whoever is in charge of life safety, how should they train their staff on what they need to know?
00:16:27
Speaker
Well, I think there's a couple of things you can do. One of the main tools is through fire drills. So there's fire safety components in the ASC that work with the fire drill process.
00:16:41
Speaker
So for example, during a fire drill, you could have staff actually activate a fire alarm pull station. They go over and pull the pull station so that now they have been trained on where the pull station is.
00:16:55
Speaker
and they know what it's going to do when you pull it. So that's part of the training. And then going through the process of how do you respond to a fire? ah So typically what we'll see is most folks use the RACE acronym. So Rescue, Alarm, Confine, and Extinguish.
00:17:11
Speaker
So you rescue anybody in danger, you activate the alarm, you confine by closing doors, and then if you can extinguish when it's small enough or you evacuate the building. it depends on the situation.
00:17:25
Speaker
So that's one of the tools. The other one is, and I see this is another one of those things that falls into the common deficiencies, is the fire exit drill. So the fire drills are what's required in the life safety code.
00:17:41
Speaker
Another code that's referenced by that is NFPA 99, the healthcare facilities code. So this healthcare facilities code is specific to healthcare care facilities. It's the only code from NFPA that only does healthcare care facilities.
00:17:58
Speaker
And in it, it talks about a fire exit drill, which would be performed in an operating room as if there was a fire on or in a patient.
00:18:09
Speaker
So obviously those types of events can happen. We've got flammables in there. We've got sources of ignition with a laser or a cartery device.
00:18:20
Speaker
So there's lots of different ways of something going wrong with that. So I know we've got a timeout procedure to make sure that we're doing things fire safe and the procedure in the right location, all of that goes into pre-procedure.
00:18:34
Speaker
but also doing an annual fire exit drill trains everybody on what their role is with a fire drill. And i'll so I'll give you an example on that one specifically. So with the fire exit drill, you've got the anesthesiologist in control of oxygen supply to the patient, which in this case would be oxygen supply to the fire as well.
00:18:56
Speaker
Then you've got the surgeon who would typically have the source of ignition in their hand. So that would be the cartery device or a laser. And then you've got the rest of the staff that's controlling the flammable materials in the environment.
00:19:11
Speaker
So it's a team approach to making sure the place is fire safe, the procedure is fire safe. And if there is an actual fire in or on the patient, what is your process for controlling that?
00:19:25
Speaker
So that would be something that you train everybody on. That is one drill that does not have to be unannounced. It can be a planned event. Let's just say you this is going to be your Christmas time event.
00:19:38
Speaker
So every December, you train the staff, here's what we do. And then you go through the exercise with the surgeon and your anesthesiologist and your staff, and you can walk them through, this is what we do if we have a fire in or on a patient.
00:19:52
Speaker
So those are really good ways of training your staff. The other way is just having some conversations about the why behind we do things.
00:20:04
Speaker
And I know this is a tough spot because just like when a clinician saw I had an injury to my finger, a clinician was saying, okay, well, that looks like an avulsion.
00:20:16
Speaker
And you're talking a different language. I don't understand what you're talking about. Same way, when we get into life safety, sometimes it probably feels like we're talking a different language.
00:20:27
Speaker
So i would encourage getting involved. i think this session is great just as a start to introduce life safety ideas. So start to shore up that knowledge of what we're talking about when we talk about life safety.
Clarifying Occupancy Requirements
00:20:42
Speaker
And I'll give you an example of that. So we survey ambulatory surgery centers, and there's a difference between an ambulatory surgery center and an ambulatory healthcare care occupancy as defined by the life safety code.
00:21:01
Speaker
And so that differentiation can confuse people. So an ASC, it could encompass the surgical space, which would include pre and post-op, and a business function, which could be the business office, your medical records, your registration, the front side of the surgery center.
00:21:21
Speaker
And it's possible you have two separate occupancies. So the front of the house could be your business occupancy and then the back of your house is ambulatory healthcare care occupancy. But as a whole, that is an ambulatory surgery center.
00:21:35
Speaker
Or they could be the same. You may not have a separate business occupancy. It may all be built under ambulatory healthcare care occupancy. Both is acceptable. But that is really confusing when you actually say it out loud. it's I'm confused, Richard. I'm saying ambulatory healthcare occupancy, and you're hearing me say ambulatory surgery center, and it's not the same.
00:21:59
Speaker
So there's differences like that that it's almost like talking a different language, I think. Sure. Yeah. And I do think at least, yeah, for the staff piece of it, if you're your first job out of nursing school or med school is in an ASC, I feel like you're just so clinically focused because that's what you just spent all of your time learning that you forget, or it's just not top of mind, all of these other things that go into the job and go into keeping the patient safe.
00:22:33
Speaker
That's right. yeah And actually, it's one of the things that I'm working on myself because try to have these conversations. We have a pretty personal relationship with our ASCs.
00:22:44
Speaker
And so I'll get questions, we'll get on a call. And so we'll sort stuff out over the phone or on Teams. Another thing you asked about staff training, I just started a webinar series earlier this year, specifically for ASCs.
Educational Resources and Webinar Series
00:23:00
Speaker
And it is exactly what we're talking about here. It's like, how do I... help folks understand, you know, what I'm talking about when I say this is what we're looking for.
00:23:11
Speaker
it's our quarterly webinars. It's not just specific to ACHC. I'm trying to make it so it's a broad audience so that if someone else wants to tap into that and see what's going on we're trying to help you out.
00:23:25
Speaker
Yeah, please send me the links to that and I'll make sure to include it in the episode notes. So if anyone listening wants to keep keep learning, they can. You bet.
00:23:36
Speaker
All right, Richard, we do this every week with our guests. What is one thing our listeners can do this week to improve their surgery centers?
00:23:46
Speaker
Well, I think being intentional, this really wasn't talking about disaster readiness so much, but that's another area I see ASCs struggle with is disaster preparedness.
00:23:57
Speaker
And so it is all connected because a fire in an ASC would be a disaster. But polishing off those disaster plans, or your fire response plan, i think is pretty unique in an ASC.
00:24:11
Speaker
So take those ideas I mentioned earlier in mind where you've got a fire drill and you've got a fire exit drill. And so when we talk about a fire response plan for an ASC, the responses are going to be different for those two types of fires.
00:24:27
Speaker
So if you've got a fire in your waiting room, that RACE acronym I talked about is the perfect application for how you respond to that. But RACE doesn't make as much sense in the OR.
00:24:39
Speaker
So look up another good resource for this is with
ASC Technology Adoption Challenges
00:24:43
Speaker
AORN. They talk a lot about fires in operating rooms. And that triangle of you've got the the source of ignition, the oxygen and the fuel, and how each person in that environment controls their part of it.
00:24:57
Speaker
So make sure that your fire response plan really addresses both instead of just to an all-encompassing plan.
00:25:05
Speaker
Perfect. Thank you so much for coming on today. I learned a ton and we really appreciate it. I'm glad you asked me. Have a great day.
00:25:17
Speaker
As always, it has been a busy week in healthcare, so let's jump right in. At the ASC News Investment and Operations Conference a few weeks ago, they held a panel on ASC technology trends.
00:25:29
Speaker
The very short summary from the panel is that technology is transforming healthcare from ah ORs to admin offices, but many ASCs are still slow to adopt tools like EHRs and AI.
00:25:41
Speaker
Here are some of the key takeaways in more detail. Tansi Stewart, CEO of Texas Health Surgery Center Park Hill, says ASCs lag behind hospitals because they're not held to the same regulations.
00:25:53
Speaker
Without that pressure, the decision to implement EHRs often comes down to cost first benefit. Max Gregory of Integrity Healthcare IT t Solutions encourages centers to think long term.
00:26:05
Speaker
Sure, there's an upfront cost, he said, but six months in, how much more efficient could your workflows be? Still, resistance is real. Many ASC nurses have past experience with clunky hospital EHRs and don't really want to repeat that experience.
00:26:20
Speaker
And for admins with tight budgets and staffing shortages, vendors must really prove real value quickly and also prove how they're going to help with support and implementations and all of that. Management companies, of course, add another layer as they're often focused on standardization and data collection, sometimes at odds with the day-to-day needs of center staff.
00:26:40
Speaker
But tools like cloud-based scheduling and billing can drive better data and performance. And the sentiment on AI was that it's promising, but not a silver bullet. It can help automate repetitive admin tasks and coding, freeing staff to focus on patient care.
00:26:55
Speaker
and But as Stuart pointed out, AI will never replace our nursing care. So what's the takeaway for those of us who are not able to attend the conference and listen in on this panel? Tech adoption is growing, but at different paces.
00:27:09
Speaker
ASC leaders should prioritize tools that streamline operations without losing sight of patient care. And it's important to look past the upfront costs and focus on long-term efficiency, staff support, and systems that actually work at the ground level.
Anesthesia Services in ASCs
00:27:24
Speaker
All right, let's talk about anesthesia. I feel like every week or every time I do the news, we are either talking about AI or anesthesia. Definitely two hot topics right now. We've already covered AI. So let's talk about anesthesia.
00:27:38
Speaker
Scott Mayer, CEO of Ambulatory Anesthesia Care, shared how his organization is helping ASCs tackle some of the biggest anesthesia-related challenges today. So first, shortages, right?
00:27:51
Speaker
Anesthesia shortages still remain a major issue. With demand rising, he says it's all about balancing physician-led models with creative staffing, whether that means certified anesthesia assistants or nurse anesthetists, without sacrificing safety or quality.
00:28:08
Speaker
He also shared, it's all about figuring out what models actually work in today's environment. We need more coverage without letting standards slip. Second is reimbursement.
00:28:18
Speaker
So on Medicare reimbursement, Scott encourages ASCs to rethink how they account for anesthesia services. Rather than treating all anesthesia billing the same, centers should consider whether Medicare cases require separate financial support.
00:28:34
Speaker
Scott said, if you want to serve more Medicare patients, which is great, you may need to offset the lower reimbursement rates with stipends for anesthesia providers. Now, obviously, end quote, this is me now.
00:28:47
Speaker
Obviously, stipends can be super expensive, but it might be one of those you need to spend money to make money situations. And then third, recruitment and retention.
00:28:57
Speaker
When it comes to finding anesthesiologists and keeping the ones you do have, Scott says autonomy and team culture are key. many providers Many anesthesia providers want more control in an increasingly corporate healthcare landscape, and you can respond with a model that supports independence while fostering a sense of community.
00:29:17
Speaker
So stay ahead. ASC leaders must meet anesthesia providers where they are by offering flexible schedules, autonomy, and clear financial planning for Medicare patients. If you are struggling to integrate your anesthesia billing into your surgery center billing or really get a hold on that, or if you simply want to make it more clear for your patients, HSC actually has a wonderful solution called HSC Clarity that can definitely help you out.
Orthopedic Recovery Protocols
00:29:42
Speaker
All right, third story. Let's talk about the recovery process from a total joint procedure. a successful recovery requires more than just a successful surgery.
00:29:54
Speaker
So Steamboat Surgery Center in Colorado calls their recovery process a well-oiled machine that is rooted in standardization, teamwork, and clear communication. Obviously, you want to make your recovery process for your patients as repeatable and streamlined as possible.
00:30:11
Speaker
So they shared that before discharge, patients must hit five key milestones, manageable pain, no significant nausea, ability to walk with support, understanding post-op instructions, and having their meds in hand.
00:30:24
Speaker
They said that much of that starts in the PACU where nurses prep by reviewing the patient's health history and surgical notes before they even arrive. Sarah Smith, who is a nurse at Steamboat Surgery Center, she said that they use a structured handoff process, monitor vital signs closely, include family in the discharge conversation, and work with PT and OT to get patients as mobile as possible.
00:30:48
Speaker
She also emphasized the balance between rest and mobility post-op to prevent complications and just improve that recovery process altogether. Dr. Alexander Menninger, who also works with the U.S. s ski team, designs pre-op plans that include patient education, multiple methods of pain management, and nerve blocks to ensure smoother recoveries.
00:31:09
Speaker
His intra-op techniques are minimally invasive, narcotic sparing, and aimed at reducing swelling, blood loss, and recovery time. So three interesting takeaways for me.
00:31:20
Speaker
ASCs that focus on patient prep, standardization, and recovery protocols are seeing results and improving the recovery process for their patients. A smooth, safe discharge starts well before surgery and continues with intentional follow-up.
00:31:35
Speaker
And lastly, orthopedic ASCs looking to shave off recovery time should consider structured handoffs, patient-centered education, and mobility-focused discharge planning.
Feel-Good Story: Dogs and Cystic Fibrosis Patients
00:31:45
Speaker
And an HST state the industry report,
00:31:47
Speaker
We found that the average orthopedic recovery time dropped from 71.8 minutes in 2023 to 68.8 minutes in 2024, which is a huge win for both efficiency and patient experience.
00:32:01
Speaker
So improvements are possible if it's something you want to work on.
Conclusion and Listener Appreciation
00:32:06
Speaker
And to end our new segment on a positive note, as if dogs weren't amazing enough, they are now helping doctors manage cystic fibrosis.
00:32:15
Speaker
Researchers at Imperial College London, working with medical detection dogs, trained sniffer dogs to detect pseudomonas, a dangerous bacteria that can lead to serious infection in cystic fibrosis patients.
00:32:28
Speaker
These pups can pick up the scent from a patient's clothing, opening the door for even at-home screening. With new funding from LifeArc and the Cystic Fibrosis Trust, this method is being rolled out to speed up diagnosis and treatment.
00:32:42
Speaker
This is why research is incredibly important and congrats to everyone working on this project. It sounds like it can definitely save lives and improve the quality of life for those dealing with cystic fibrosis.
00:32:54
Speaker
And that officially wraps up this week's podcast. Thank you as always for spending a few minutes of your week with us. Make sure to subscribe or leave a review on whichever platform you're listening from. I hope you have a great day and we will see you again next week.