Improving Skeletal Traction Procedures with Arbutus Medical
Erlanger Health System is a nationally acclaimed, multi-hospital health system anchored by a leading academic medical center. Each year, more than 600,000 people are treated by a team of healthcare professionals at seven medical centers across Tennessee and North Carolina. The organization delivers the highest quality care, to diverse populations, at the lowest cost, through personalized experiences across all patient access points. Erlanger also operates the tri-state region’s only Level 1 Trauma Center, providing the highest level of trauma care for adults.
The Challenge
The level 1 Trauma Center was using traction trays which comprised sterilized cordless stryker drills with separate sterilized batteries and ‘peel from package’ pins. These were adequate products for the job, but there were times when the trays were missing pins, and often the equipment was stored in different locations, so had to be gathered from across the hospital.
This increased the time required to apply traction to patients and was time-consuming for medical staff to sort out, leading to frustration for the team.
The Solution
The medical team at Erlanger was keen to find a better solution and investigated the Skeletal Traction Procedure Kit manufactured by Arbutus, a specialist firm committed to simplifying orthopedic surgery, making it safer, and lowering costs. The kit provides the tools, traction pin, and surgical drill, all pre-sterilized and ready to use, enabling doctors to apply skeletal traction quickly.
The Results
Since using the new kit there have been no further issues with equipment stocks, and everything is now stored in a central location within the emergency department. Setting up the equipment and keeping it clean and sterile is easy and has saved the staff considerable time, as well as improved patient experiences and recovery:
“The ease of use and accessibility of the product saves valuable time in the ED. Having the traction equipment so accessible improves the effectiveness of traction application for patients, while also decreasing frustration and wasted time for residents”
