Warming cabinets reduce risk of post-operative infection

If you've ever had surgery, you may remember that the operating room was pretty cold. Well, the Bonner General Hospital Foundation is kicking off its 2009 fundraising efforts with an eye toward turning up the heat.

The foundation's first fundraising project this year is to raise money to replace the warming cabinets in the hospital's surgery department.

Warming cabinets are machines used to heat the irrigation and intravenous fluids that are administered to a patient in the operating room, and to heat blankets that keep the patient warm while waiting for and during surgery, and in the recovery room. This equipment plays a critical role in patient safety during and after surgery, because it decreases the risk of post-operative infections and other complications.

Here's how.

Oper-ating rooms are traditionally kept quite cool for the surgeon and staff, who must work under hot bright lights in heavy surgical gowns.

Those temperatures, though, can make it pretty chilly for the patient. When a patient's body temperature drops, it decreases the body's ability to fight infection and increases the risk that the patient will develop a surgical site infection or other post-operative complications.

Consequently, the surgery staff must take active steps to maintain a patient's body normal body temperature in order to minimize the risk of these complications.

One of the key ways they do this is by administering heated IV fluids and blankets to the patient. Those fluids and blankets are heated in - you guessed it - a warming cabinet.

Such a simple device makes such a difference in the safety and comfort of our patients.

Last year, Bonner General Hospital performed more than 5,700 surgical procedures, using fluids and blankets heated in a warming cabinet. The hospital offers a comprehensive range of surgical services on both an inpatient and outpatient basis. In addition to general surgery procedures like gall bladder and appendix removal, Bonner General is equipped to handle a wide range of orthopedic procedures such as hip and knee joint replacement and sports injuries. Surgical services are also available in the areas of obstetrics and gynecology, urology, ophthalmology, ear/nose/throat and pain management.

It may be cold outside, but we're committed to keeping our patients warm from the inside out! If you would like more information, please call the hospital at 263-1441. I'll be glad to talk with you about the warming cabinet fundraising project, and Charlene Godec, R.N., director of the hospital's surgery department, can answer your questions about the hospital's surgery capabilities.

n Lynda Metz is the director of community development at Bonner General Hospital. She also serves as executive director of the BGH Foundation.