The administrator of a now-closed Indiana eye surgery facility made a $140,000 annual salary. Apparently that wasn't enough.

Last week, Dorian "Frank" Winconek, 56, was sentenced to 2 years in prison for stealing more than $78,000 of the center's money to pay for ballroom dancing lessons, personal auto repairs and to award himself a cash bonus.

Dorian "Frank" Winconek, 56, was fired CFO and CEO at Muncie Eye Center Group in February 2011 after the criminal charges were filed against him. Authorities said he used a company credit card to pay for bedroom furniture and new doors for his home, skin care products and "flowers and dinners with a female acquaintance," in addition to the dancing lessons and car repairs. He also awarded himself unauthorized cash bonuses.

Mr. Winconek "ruined this great company and the lives of its employees, all so he could live high on the hog," according to prosecuting attorney Eric Hoffman, who recommended a 3-year prison sentence.

Mr. Winconek was ordered to serve 2 years' probation, pay $78,429.83 in restitution to the Muncie Eye Center Group and perform 240 hours of community service after completing his prison term. A civil suit against Mr. Winconek is also pending.

Mark McGraw

Many laparoscopic surgeons like to work with overhead lights dimmed to improve the quality of images on video monitors, leaving the rest of the surgical team to work in near-darkness.

But the drawbacks of working in a darkened room go beyond inconvenience. Patient and staff safety could be jeopardized by nurses who have trouble reading medication labels, identifying needed supplies or failing to see floor-level obstacles such as cords or equipment.

According to researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, however, illuminating ORs with green ambient light during minimally invasive procedures maintains image quality on video monitors and brightens the outskirts of the sterile field. They presented their study on the subject at last year's annual meeting of the American Society of Anesthesiologists.

Green lighting improves overall ambient OR illumination without hampering the surgeon's view because of the human eye's sensitivity to green light, notes the study. Luminance under low-intensity green overhead lights installed in 2 of Mass General's ORs was 5% of the luminance measured under standard white lights, and effectively illuminated OR activities without producing glare or washout on monitors.

Mass General's trialing of green lighting proved to be so popular among surgeons, anesthesia providers and nurses that the researchers plan on extending use of the low-level lighting to 28 of the hospital's surgical suites.

Daniel Cook

"Medication is a multi-faceted challenge for surgical facility managers," writes pharmacy and medication safety consultant Sheldon S. Sones, RPh, FASCP. Between the thorough documentation of the receipt, use and disposal of controlled drugs; maintaining a balance between the security of and ready access to critical anesthetic agents; compliance with federal handling regulations; and training your staff in immediate response with rescue and reversal drugs, there are many moving parts.

Mr. Sones, who travels around New England surveying and advising facilities on medication security and storage, details the areas that he's noticed most often need a review from the top in "10 Medication Safety Rules to Live By,", which appeared in Outpatient Surgery Magazine's "Manager's Guide to Patient & Staff Safety."

David Bernard

Last week, CMS officials announced that they're once again pushing back the compliance deadline for implementing ICD-10 medical coding sets. No word yet on the new deadline, only that it won't be Oct. 1, 2013. Are you pleased or peeved with the news? Tell us in this week's InstaPoll.

Nearly 9 of 10 (86%) of the 529 respondents to last week's poll agree that anesthesiologists have a duty to lock up their medications. On the other hand, 13% feel that leaving drugs unlocked in the care of trusted staff constitutes a secure environment. We asserted that syringes and vials should always be locked down or in anesthesia's immediate possession, never on an unattended cart. You replied: