Nurse collaboration reduces surgical site infections

Nurses at St. Peter’s Hospital in Albany, N.Y., successfully introduced evidence-based practices to reduce surgical site infections, according to the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses. The nurses started a pre-operative education program to teach patients how to improve their health before surgery by reducing their sugar intake, minimizing unhealthy habits and developing fitness goals before and after surgery. Patients reduced complications after surgery and built a rapport with the staff who guided their recovery. The nurses adopted team-driven intra-operative monitoring to improve patient metabolic status. The testing revealed more than 60% of non-diabetic patients needed insulin treatment for perioperative hyperglycemia, reducing length of stay by over 1.5 days. The nurses also established post-op surgery-specific nursing support calls to decrease infection and re-admission rates. (AORN article, 8/22/24)