Healthy Families, Healthy Homes: Clean Rooms
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| KMOT |
| 11/2/2009 |
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| The new 797 room at Trinity CancerCare Center is bacterias` worst nightmare. The facility is a 100 percent clean room. It`s the first of its kind in the area to meet the standards issued by U.S. Pharmacopeia, the authority for all prescription and over-the-counter medicines.. "The rules are put in place to ensure all IVs are created in an environment free of bacteria and particle contamination," Pharmacy Director David Sandberg, R.Ph. says. That`s crucial because many cancer patients who receive these chemotherapy injections have weakened immune systems. So they`re incredibly vulnerable to infections. "What we`re doing is preventing that infection possibility by lessening the number of bacteria and particles that get into the rooms," Sandberg says. Before pharmacists and technicians can enter the facility they must don hospital-washed scrubs. Next they have to change their shoes to ones that are bacteria free. Once in the anteroom they scrub up, apply an anti-bacterial, and slip on sterile gloves that are then sprayed with sterile alcohol. "They`re very good about complying and realize the importance of following the steps," Sadberg says. As if that weren`t enough, the rooms where IVs are mixed are constantly monitored to maintain specific pressures. The constant air flow keeps particles from entering the pharmaceuticals and protects the workers. "The rooms are set up to handle the air to keep the vapors off the workers that are compounding the cancer drugs," Sandberg says. And for all their work, an IV like this one is the final result. About as germ free as you can get. |
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