This is Why
There are 550 – 650 surgical fires each year in the United States, and these fires are almost all preventable. The CMS Final Rule on Fire Safety Requirements for Certain Health Care Facilities that was published in May 2016 specifically adopted the 2012 Edition of NFPA 99, which details NEW and SPECIFIC requirements that requires Fire Loss Prevention in Operating Rooms (Section 15.13) in hospitals, out-patient surgical departments and ambulatory surgery centers.
These programs are required to include:
- Hazard Assessments – including a Surgical Fire Risk Assessment and training.
- Policies and Procedures when using flammable skin preps.
- Emergency Procedures – specific to your operating room / surgical suites.
- Orientation and Training- required for new staff and annually for all personnel including physicians and surgeons, and including fire drills in this area.
We provide training for surgeons, anesthesia providers, nurses and surgical technologists for ORs and procedural areas including:
- Seminars for Grand Rounds or “late-start” days.
- Hands-on suppression of fires on surgical patients.
- Evacuation simulations of single or multiple rooms.
- Special evacuation programs for robotics, open heart, Cath/EP Labs, etc.
- Managing a fire in the Post Anesthesia Care Units where patients are incapable of self-preservation.
This is How
RPA has been on the leading edge of Surgical Fire Prevention and Training for over fifteen years. We have reviewed numerous surgical fire events, trained thousands of staff and presented for many local, state and national associations on this topic. We are longtime members of the Preventing Surgical Fires Initiative, a group originally spearheaded by the FDA and now being led by The Joint Commission. Also, in April 2017 we presented “Hot Topic! Surgical Fire Prevention, Suppression, and Evacuation” at the AORN Surgical Conference & Expo 2017 in Boston, Massachusetts. We bring this significant experience to every Surgical Fire Program we offer.
The RPA Surgical Fire Program Offers You:
FIRE PROCEDURE REDESIGN
This will include a survey of the surgical areas with customized plans outlining roles and responsibilities of the surgical team and leadership during a fire or evacuation. Interviews on current practices for prevention of surgical fires will take place at this time.
REALISTIC TRAINING
Training under actual fire conditions has proven to be the most effective approach in preparing staff and reducing the chance for the loss of life in a real fire. The training will focus on:
Fire Prevention:
What is causing surgical fires and how do we prevent them?
Fire Suppression:
What are the steps you should take to suppress airway, oral cavity, surgical site, and drape fires?
Fire Plan Review
What are the roles of the surgical team during a fire?
Evacuation
How do you break down equipment and evacuate if fire or smoke conditions force you from the OR?
Practical
These exercises will assist staff in becoming more familiar with their roles in fire suppression and evacuation. Staff will drill on who has responsibility for the patient, medical gas shut-offs, etc. This program will involve all staff in performing realistic fire suppression on a mock patient.