From products to prevent hypothermia and deep vein thrombosis, to new educational programs designed to empower operating room (OR) teams, Medline Industries, Inc. is introducing a number of innovative OR solutions designed to improve OR safety at this week’s 59th Annual Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) Congress. Kicking off in New Orleans, LA., this afternoon, AORN is the largest gathering of OR nurses in the world.

“Preventing medical errors and improving the quality of care is our paramount goal,” said Kim Haines, RN, certified OR Nurse, vice president of clinical resources for Medline. “Through extensive customer insights, research and new technologies, we have developed several new solutions to help medical staff improve patient safety and outcomes.”

Among the new products Medline (Booth #3407) will introduce and demonstrate at AORN this week are:

• PerfecTemp™ — The PerfecTemp OR table pad, which uniquely incorporates both pressure-reducing high-tech material to reduce the incidence of pressure ulcers and a warming system to combat hypothermia, a dangerous, yet common surgical complication associated with higher mortality rates, longer hospital stays and an increased rate of wound infection.
• PerforMAX pOweR™ scrubs — the health care industry’s first-ever line of long-sleeved scrubs to help reduce the risk of infection by providing a protective barrier between the patient and a healthcare worker’s bare arms, which can transmit bacteria. PerforMAX complies with new guidelines from the Association of Perioperative Registered Nurses (AORN) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which now require many members of OR teams to wear long-sleeved jackets for the first time.
• IRiS™ — a mobile UV-C (high-intensity ultraviolet light) room disinfection system that has been shown to dramatically reduce pathogens found on surfaces within health care settings.
• Octylseal™ tissue adhesive — an innovative new wound closure tissue adhesive that provides a strong and safe alternative to topical sutures. Octylseal is also used as a microbial barrier or dressing. Octylseal can help reduce the time patients spend in the operating and emergency room and eliminate several challenges, such as surgical site trauma, inflammation, and other complications often seen with traditional suturing.
• Vaso-Force™ DVT prophylaxis pumps and garments — Medline’s newest compression therapy solutions for deep vein thrombosis (DVT). Medline is the only company to offer all three of the most common compression solutions: intermittent, sequential and static non-mechanical compression with EMS compression stockings. Medline’s air compression garments are lined with tricot, a soft and breathable knit material that helps promote compliance and reduce the risk of skin breakdown and pressure ulcers.
• Signature Glide™ surgeon’s gloves — Medline’s new Signature Glide glove features an inner gel coating made from hydrophilic synthetic polymer that allows hands to glide effortlessly into the glove whether the hands are wet or dry.

About Medline’s OR Solutions
Medline started as an OR solutions provider more than 100 years ago when the company’s founder got his start in health care by making surgeon gowns and was the innovator responsible for changing OR gowns from white to blue to reduce the dangerous glare from OR lights. Since then, Medline has built an entire suite of OR solutions that focus on solving the critical problems that cost hospitals more money.