Our new VP nursing has told us this is no longer allowed!

She states we need to provide a cooler for each patient.

Can someone direct us to the appropriate reg please

tx

I think there is a general discouragement of OR refrigerators, but if properly controlled, I can't think of any regulation or standard preventing them.

Coolers have their own set of problems, too.

Is it just her personal opinion? Maybe she can direct you to the regulation?

JCAHO came out with a recommendation a few years back but it wasn't actually a regulation as far as I know.

She's full of it. There is no such regulation, nor is there any standard that prohibits it. You would get more flack from the FDA with the coolers than a blood refrigerator. Blood stored in a cooler must meet the same rigid requirement of 1-6C storage and temps taken Q4 hours. The 10C temp is for transport only, and if the cooler is sitting in the OR, it is not being transported.

BC

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