Sponge-scanner system greatly reduces surgery errors

Sisters of St. Francis Northern Indiana hospitals 1st to offer

Surgical sponges left inside patients can produce disastrous results. But these days, chances of such occurrences are slim to none within the hospitals of the Northern Indiana Region of Sisters of St. Francis Health Services Inc.

SSFHS hospitals are the first in the state to employ a computer-assisted, sponge-counting program that is being implemented in operating rooms and in labor and delivery departments, according to Tony Embre, Midwest vice president of California-based SurgiCount Medical Inc. The Food and Drug Administration approved the Safety-Sponge System two years ago. Only 28 hospitals nationwide have the system, Embre says.

SSFHS facilities began using it earlier this year. Saint Margaret Mercy campuses in Hammond and Dyer began on Jan. 12. Saint Anthony Medical Center in Crown Point will implement the program March 9; Saint Anthony Memorial Hospital in Michigan City, March 23. The system also is under consideration for implementation at Franciscan Physicians Hospital in Munster.

The Safety-Sponge System employs individually bar-coded surgical sponges and a portable scanner that assures an accurate count, greatly reducing the chances of error. “In about one in every 7,800 procedures, a sponge is left inside a patient. This can cause loss of organ function. The sponges become septic, which can result in extreme consequences,” Embre says, adding that effective Oct. 1, Medicaid and Medicare stopped reimbursing hospitals that must perform follow-up surgeries to remove such leftover materials.

David Bruce, SurgiCount president and CEO, calls SSFHS’s decision to use the system, “a reflection of the hospitals’ commitment toward patient safety,” adding, “It provides a standard of care that is safe, simple and cost-effective.”“Proven to be effective in 300,000 procedures in large and small institutions alike, our system provides an easily repeatable process that hospitals can confidently adopt to avoid these events and the substantial costs associated with them,” Bruce says.

Gene Diamond, CEO of Sisters of St. Francis Health Systems Northern Indiana Region, adds, “We are very pleased to adopt the SurgiCount system as a newly added precaution to our safety protocols already in place. “All of our SSFHS hospitals in the Northern Indiana Region make every effort to avoid medical complications and this is just another example of taking the lead when it comes to important advancements in patient care delivery.” For more information on Sisters of St. Francis Health Services Inc., visit www.ssfhs.org.

For more information on SurgiCount Medical Inc., visit www.surgicountmedical.com.