Cardinal Health will highlight health care solutions essential to infection prevention, patient and staff safety, and sterilization at the 60th annual Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) Congress exhibit hall, open March 4 to 6 in San Diego.

The company will host four continuing education (CE) activities focused on safety and efficiency in the operating room (OR). Each course, approved for two CE credits, is sponsored by Pfiedler Enterprises through the California Board of Registered Nursing. The following courses will be offered in the Cardinal Health CE theater:

Pre-op preparedness: Setting the stage for safety - A strong culture of safety in the OR is essential to positive patient outcomes and is the responsibility of all members of the entire perioperative team. This continuing education activity will provide an overview of the appropriate strategies and practices for building a culture of safety before a surgical procedure begins.

Preference Card Management: Improving Clinical Efficiency and Patient Care - Surgeon preference cards provide the basis for business, financial and operational decisions and can play a critical role in the efficient management of perioperative suites. This session will address methods for improving clinical efficiency and patient care through effective preference card management.

Topical Skin Adhesives: Strong, Secure and Effective Wound Closure - Wound closure and healing are essential to optimal outcomes for all surgical patients, and the healing process is facilitated by proper closure of the surgical wound. This continuing education course will provide information regarding the advancements in topical skin adhesives in surgery and the clinical benefits of their use, focusing specifically on the butyl- and octyl-cyanoacrylate formulations of skin adhesives.

An additional course will be offered as a CE handout on March 5 and 6 while supplies last:

Retained Foreign Objects: The Cost of Leaving Things Behind - Retained Foreign Objects (RFOs) after surgery can result in patient morbidity and even mortality, and the cost of leaving them behind is significant for everyone involved. This continuing education activity not only will help perioperative nurses understand the ramifications and liabilities of the costs of RFOs, but it also will allow them to explore current technology and professional-recommended practices that will help them eliminate false counts and RFO incidences.

Cardinal Health is also the sponsor of the AORN keynote speaker session at 5:15 p.m. Pacific on March 6. In his presentation, “Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work,” guest speaker and renowned author Dan Heath, will discuss how the few, critical moments of decision making have disproportionate influence in the day-to-day and the four-step process people can utilize to help make better choices.

Beyond offering free CE activities and sponsoring keynote speaker Dan Heath, Cardinal Health will further support clinician education at its AORN Booth #3139 by highlighting inventive, meaningful and cost-effective solutions that allow practitioners to focus on what matters most - caring for their patients. As part of customized tours, attendees can learn more about health care essentials, including:

Cardinal Health Orthopedic Solutions, a new business model to help reduce the cost and complexity of orthopedic surgery. In a simplified approach to high quality orthopedics, Cardinal Health Orthopedic Solutions comprises high quality, low cost products; data and analytics packages for visibility on spend, inventory and outcomes; and supply chain expertise from an experienced distribution channel.

Double-gloving Systems with Protexis Surgical Gloves, supporting sharps safety initiatives. The systems’ blue foundation gloves paired with light-colored overgloves helps make breaches visible and alerts wearers to dangerous perforations.
Topical skin adhesives in both the SecureSeal octyl and Liquiband butyl formulations, providing safe, strong and secure topical skin closure solutions.

Jackson-Pratt Wound Drains, a recently expanded line of products which now includes a more comprehensive selection of high-quality active and passive surgical wound drain systems.


Smart-Seal Surgical Mask, the latest addition to the Cardinal Health facial protection portfolio and the 2012 winner of the Surgical Products magazine “Excellence in Surgical Products” award in the Apparel Category. The mask features a patent-pending fog-reduction system that includes closed-cell foam and a vapor barrier as well as a patent-pending "cinch and hug" single-tie design that reduces gaps along the face to deliver complete protection for wearers.

Smith & Nephew PICO Single Use Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (NPWT) System, a pocket-sized, single use canister-free NPWT system that offers the effectiveness of traditional NPWT at a significantly reduced cost. The ultra-compact, discreet, single-use, and off-the-shelf design of PICO simplifies the application of effective negative pressure, reducing the need for staff time, intensive training and administrative paperwork associated with traditional NPWT.

DuraBlue Sterilization Wrap cleared for use with the most sterilization cycles of any double-layer sterilization wrap in the U.S. market and the only double-layer wrap cleared for use with all currently supported ASP STERRAD Systems.

Instrument decontamination and preservation products designed to satisfy Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation guidelines and extend the life of surgical equipment.

Care beyond the OR, a collaboration between AORN Congress attendees and Cardinal Health to support Wounded Warrior Project. Cardinal Health will donate $5 per attendee visiting the Cardinal Health interactive donation station and adding a photo to the image wall. The mission of the Wounded Warrior Project is to honor and empower wounded warriors.