What Works

Patients finding it’s cool to warm up

At Northern Illinois Medical Center in the Chicago suburb of McHenry, IL, many pre- and post-surgical patients were complaining of feeling cold, and warmed cotton blankets were not the answer. This was the problem that Sue Bartoszewski and the staff were trying to solve at the 196-bed facility and a place where matters of patient comfort and satisfaction are taken very seriously, just as it is in most other hospitals. Northern Illinois Medical Center and Centegra Memorial Medical Center are part of Centegra Health System.

The search for a warming solution led Bartoszewski and her staff to the Bair Paws patient adjustable warming system from Minneapolis-based Arizant Healthcare Inc., what Arizant says it a new concept in patient warming. Arizant Healthcare was formerly known as Augustine Medical Inc.

According to Arizant, the Bair Paws system combines patient gowning and warming in a single step, replacing traditional patient gowns and the need for nurses to continually change warmed cotton blankets for patients. Patients are issued a warming gown upon arrival. This gown is used in place of the traditional patient gown and is worn throughout the patient’s perioperative stay. 

To deliver warming, the gown is attached via a hose to a compact warming unit and patients waiting for surgery can adjust the temperature of the air in the system to a comfortable level. This is accomplished through the use of a hand-held controller that adjusts the temperature of the air flowing through channels to perforations in the warming gown. After surgery, the attending nurse can reconnect a Bair Paws warming unit to the warming gown and set the temperature to a level that will help comfort patients while they recover from anesthesia.

The Bair Paws system allows patients to control their own thermal comfort while waiting for their surgical procedure. “With the utilization of the Bair Paws system, patients are not only kept comfortable, at a level they can adjust, but it seemed to help decrease their pre-surgical anxiety level as well,” said Bartoszewski, a nurse who is surgical services manager at the hospital.

Why the Bair Paws system?
Working closely with Arizant Health-care’s representative, Bartoszewski and her staff exposed the Bair Paws system to an intense trial period. The company’s representative did pre-education on the Bair Paws system for the medical center’s staff, was at the facility daily during the initial phase of the trial and visited the facility at frequent intervals during and after the trial to make sure all staff remained confident in use of the Bair Paws system and to answer any questions or concerns. “The company’s representative did a tremendous job at education, and continues to return at our request for re-inservicing when needed,” said Bartoszewski.

Centegra NIMC was one of the first facilities to adapt to the Bair Paws system and Bartoszewski and her staff provided customer feedback on using the system. Such clinician feedback was integrated into the design of the product.

Bartoszewski also worked with the facility’s finance department to justify the cost of the Bair Paws system. Before the Bair Paws system, the facility was using an average of 15 cotton blankets per patient. (An AORN study of cotton blanket usage published in Surgical Services Management in June 2002 reveals that cotton blankets can cost facilities an average of $1.08 each.) Through use of the Bair Paws system, the staff was able to demonstrate to management a reduction in linen, gown and cotton blanket utilization. 

“I believe that linen cost will decrease with the use of the single-use Bair Paws gown,” said Bartoszewski. 

The staff was also able to demonstrate an increase in patient satisfaction. “We saw a significant increase in satisfaction when patients who used the Bair Paws system were asked about their comfort level,” said Bartoszewski. “Also, we have had a couple of patients comment on how nice it is knowing no one else has used the gown. The gowns are always in good condition, unlike some cloth gowns that are almost see-through.”

A patient commented, “The new Bair [Paws] patient gowns (that can be warmed up) were fantastic!…I have had foot surgery there four times in the past 17 months. This was a better experience than the last three. It seems Centegra is doing something right! The improvements make a huge difference to patients…Thanks!”

Kate Dolan, RN, Centegra Health System, added, “The prestige of the hospital has moved up a notch or two in their [patients’] eyes with the acquisition of the system. Patients feel that a hospital that cares enough to do this for them has got to be great!”

How widely is the system used?
Both Northern Illinois Medical Center and Centegra Memorial Medical Center are using the Bair Paws System in the following departments: Same day surgery, pre-op holding, recovery, endoscopy and ambulatory treatment.

“My outpatient surgery patients are tremendously impressed and pleased with the new Bair Paws system,” said Dolan. “They love the focused attention the Bair Paws system provides, not to mention the warmth and comfort.” 

HPN

June