FEATURE


Like most ASCs, Harmony had a backlog when going back to full speed, Craig says. While certain procedures, such as screening colonoscopies, were slower to return and were back by 40–50 percent in the beginning, other procedures, such as pain management and surgical volume, were above the budgeted volume, she says. Both centers implemented new protocols to stave off COVID-19 infections.


New Rules ASCs Adjust to Pandemic Protocols


Updated guidelines involve more focus on infection control BY SAHELY MUKERJI


A


s the country comes out of the COVID-19 lockdown, elective


surgeries have resumed in most states. At press time, 39 states had issued orders or guidance regarding the resumption of elective procedures or allowed their orders restricting elec- tive procedures to expire. Manatee Surgical Center in Bra- denton, Florida, performed emergent surgeries only during the lockdown, says Linda Nash, CASC, ASCA Board member and administrator, and furloughed most of its staff. When they went back after the lockdown, the ASC had a big backlog of cases. Harmony Surgery Center in Fort Collins, Colorado, stayed open three days a week during the lockdown and consolidated its cases, says Rebecca Craig, RN, CASC, former president of the ASCA Board and chief execu-


12 ASC FOCUS AUGUST 2020| ascfocus.org


LEARN MORE AT ASCA 2020


Hear more about COVID-19’s impact on infection prevention during the session recording ‘Managing COVID-19: Past, Present and Future Implications for ASC Infection Prevention.’ The ASCA 2020 Virtual Conference & Expo is available on demand until October 31.


ascassociation.org/ annualconference


tive officer of Harmony and Peak Sur- gical Management. “We went from 80 cases per day to about 12,” she says. The center decreased staffing hours more than 50 percent for most of its 103 employees and approximately 80 percent were on unemployment.


While in lockdown, Nash and her staff spent half the day reading and writing new policies and the other half performing emergent proce- dures, she says. “The first week we got back to full-time operation was a slow week and it gave us time to bring in the staff and service-in new policies,” she says. The “new normal” includes cheat sheets in every OR and procedure room to remind staff when to wear N95 masks, protective gowns, disposable caps and eye pro- tection, which is any time they do a procedure that can cause aerosoliza- tion, she says. The center has a Ster- rad Sterilization System that sterilizes N95 masks. “We are allowed to steril- ize those masks twice,” she says. “So, we haven’t had any shortages. It is a new routine every morning you come in: you look at your cases to see if you need the PPE [personal protective equipment] and the N95.”


The center changed its cleaning protocol, and now, every flat surface gets extra cleaning, Nash says. Staff keep nothing on the counters and the facility is mopped more frequently than before. “We clean computers with alcohol wipes, and other equipment and surfaces with sanitizing wipes, and allow extra dry time for the cleaning solutions to dry,” she says. Manatee also changed its visitor


policy. “We took most of the chairs out of the visitor lobby to discourage


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