An OR nurse picks something off the floor mid-procedure, discards it, and then returns to work without washing her hands. A dropped surgical instrument is picked up, placed on a clean table and left there — even after the case is over and the room is cleaned. A surgeon enters the OR with his mask untied and dangling from his face.
These are just some of the infection control lapses discovered at more than three-quarter of Iliinois surgery centers inspected over the past year, according to state reports obtained by the Associated Press.
In 22 out of 29 centers surveyed, inspectors found clinics cleaning and reusing single-use devices, nurses wearing jewelry in violation of surgical attire protocols, staff lacking proper infection control training and one Chicago surgery center using a converted commercial dishwasher to sanitize surgical instruments. AP has a full list of the Illinois clinics that were cited, but not a full account of all offenses, here.
Illinois, like all states, is stepping up its inspections of ambulatory surgery centers as part of a nationwide response to the Las Vegas hepatitis C outbreak and other high-profile disease outbreaks linked to infection control lapses at ASCs. While no such outbreaks have been linked to Illinois ASCs, Michael McCauley, a spokesman for the Consumer Union's Safe Patient Project, says the number of lapses "points to a serious problem that must be addressed to ensure that patients are kept safe from these preventable infections."
State health officials told AP that the surgical facilities with the worst citations were subject to repeat inspections, and all lapses cited in the reports have been addressed by the centers.
Irene Tsikitas
