The hospital must dispose of any blood, urine and other fluids left over from patients who have undergone surgery or other procedures. These fluids could contain pathogens, such as HIV and hepatitis.
Suctioning these fluids into canisters is the traditional way to deal with them. Once the canisters have been filled, the hospital staff will transport them to the operating room and open them. The fluid is then emptied down the drain. Problem is, the fluid can spread to workers.
Fran Hahn was a nurse and that’s exactly what happened to her. Huntingdon Valley Surgery Center in Pennsylvania. While she was at another hospital. “I was changing a full suction canister-and contaminated fluid splashed in my eye,”She recalls. “The patient was HIV-positive, so I had to be tested for the next 18 months.”Although she wasn’t infected with the disease, her ordeal was painful. “No one should have to go through that,”She said.
It’s no longer necessary to do so. Skyline Medical(NASDAQ:SKLN), has created an automated system that pumps fluids directly from patients to a wall-mounted unit that is connected to the sewer system. The fluids are emptied directly into the drain, right from the operating or procedure rooms.
Huntingdon Valley Surgery CenterIt was found that the FDA-cleared STREAMWAY® SystemThis not only eliminates the chance that nurses, doctors, or other medical staff will be exposed, but it also improves suction, allowing doctors to do better operations. “For facilities like ours, that take pride in providing the best patient care and keeping staff safe, STREAMWAY is such a logical choice,”Hahn.
Additionally, hospitals like the Tucson Medical Center have found that the system is time- and cost-savings effective. “We’re not spilling fluid or accidentally pulling the patient’s catheter out, because we aren’t having to stop and exchange bottles,”Moravia Costaanza, TMC Ultrasound Department supervisor. “One radiologist said that the STREAMWAY System“It is worth its weight as gold.”
