[nabs-l] Sanitizing canes for use in hospitals

Tue Aug 18 06:23:04 UTC 2015

Elizabeth,

I'll put this on the list just so others might better understand the
purpose of working in the preop/postop setting as an MT and why the
issue is important there, however I may be contacting you off-list
because until recently I had very little experience in hospitals that
I remembered.  Most of my personal experiences happened as a toddler
and I only vaguely remember my last eye surgery I had at age 4.

Music Therapy is growing within hospitals, and has especially been
recognized for its helpfulness in pediatric hospitals.  In the preop
setting it can be used to help a child (or an adult if warranted)
relax.  A trained music therapist knows how to use music to distract a
patient from their pain or decrease their anxiety.  This can be done
by having the patient listen to soothing music with or without verbal
instruction for relaxation, using the music to change aspects of the
physiology like to bring down a fast heart rate/steady breathing, or
to distract a child while nurses are starting an IV or performing
other tasks.  In postop it can be used to address pain or to help a
patient remain calm if they tend to be anxious/upset.  While I've seen
more literature on use in preop situations, I am interested in the
possibility of doing postop work, too.

On 8/15/15, Elizabeth Mohnke via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Hello Kaiti,
>
> Can you please explain how you see yourself working as a music therapist in
> the pre-op and post-op setting? As someone who has first-hand experience
> with the pre-op and post-op experience as it relates to having surgical
> procedures, I do not understand how a music therapist would work in this
> type of setting.
>
> However, working in the pre-op and post-op setting is completely different
> than working in any type of intensive care unit. The type of scrubs used
> for
> these two settings are different and are made out of different types of
> materials. If you are looking for something disposal to use for your cane,
> I
> would suggest contacting the national office to enquire about obtaining the
> long plastic bags they use when shipping canes. I believe something like
> this would work for your situation.
>
> I would be more than happy to share my specific experience being in a
> hospital as well as visiting people in the hospital off list as I do not
> believe it would be appropriate to share this information on the email
> list.
>
> I hope this leads you in the right direction in finding a solution to your
> specific situation.
>
> Warm regards,
> Elizabeth
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Kaiti Shelton
> via nabs-l
> Sent: Saturday, August 15, 2015 6:00 PM
> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Kaiti Shelton <crazy4clarinet104 at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Sanitizing canes for use in hospitals
>
> Hi all,
>
> I think that in certain situations you would put on booties with scrubs for
> full protection, but it is specific.  I just feel like I need to be
> prepared
> for any situation in my career, especially if I work in preop and postop
> like I would like to do.
>
> Changing the cane tips would be to prevent tracking unwanted substances
> that
> might spill onto the floor to other places.  E.G, blood, spilled meds,
> vomit
> or other liquids.  It would be an extra step because the cane tip would be
> most likely to touch these things on the floor, I would think.
>
> The biggest challenge would be getting disposable things in mass quantities
> so I am prepared to have a stock of them.  If I get them made with a cloth
> of some sort like scrubs it wouldn't be hard to ask someone who makes
> medical stuff to sew them propperly for cheap, but the disposable ones
> would
> be more of a challenge.  I'd need something that's at least 56 inches long
> to go over my cane.
>
> On 8/13/15, Elizabeth Mohnke via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> Hello Kaiti,
>>
>> I have never thought of sanitizing my cane when visiting someone in
>> the hospital before. If you could find some kind of plastic tubing, I
>> think that would probably work. If I remember correctly, the scrubs I
>> have seen people throw away in ICU units are plastic like aprons that
>> tie in the back. So I think your plastic tubing should work just fine.
>>
>> However, I am a bit confused about changing out cane tips though. I
>> would consider this to be the same as changing one's shoes when
>> visiting different patients in different rooms. From what I can
>> recall, I have never seen this as any kind of protocol when working
>> with high risk  patients before. If anything, I would think you would
>> want to sterilize the part of the cane that you touch rather than the
>> part that touches the floor as this would be the part of the cane that
>> would most likely come in contact with the patient.
>>
>> I have visited someone in ICU several times, and this was never really
>> an issue. However, I can also understand your concern. I would think
>> the Lysol wipes would be sufficient for most situations. For the times
>> when the Lysol wipes are not sufficient, some kind of plastic tubing
>> you can throw away when you are done visiting the patient should work
>> just
> fine.
>>
>> I hope this helps you with your situation.
>>
>> Warm regards,
>> Elizabeth
>>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Kaiti
>> Shelton via nabs-l
>> Sent: Thursday, August 13, 2015 10:35 PM
>> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
>> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
>> Cc: Kaiti Shelton <crazy4clarinet104 at gmail.com>
>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Sanitizing canes for use in hospitals
>>
>> Hi, Jamie,
>>
>> This was sort of what I was thinking about.  It would definitely work
>> in most situations.  The only tricky part will be figuring out
>> something for those very risky situations.  I know some units have
>> scrubs that are washed, while ones on intensive care units are just
>> thrown away to minimize spread of germs in the wash rooms.  I think
>> then getting some sort of plastic tubing might work, possibly?
>>
>> I do like the idea of keeping a few cane tips around, or possibly
>> getting scrub-like covers made for the tip.  I haven't decided how
>> feasible it will be for me to switch tips if I need to do my job
>> quickly, but it's an option.
>> The other idea I have since come up with is to just keep multiple
>> canes around so I have one that stays home from the hospital or at
>> least away from any of the patients, one that I keep on-hand for
>> everyday cases and those with minimal protection required (like the
>> little sheet cover), and a third kept somewhere else that I would just
>> use for special cases with high risk of contamination and I would
>> clean thurroughly immediately after each use.
>>
>> I'm still looking for someone who has experience in this, but so far
>> no one seems to be or know of an authority on the issue.  This has
>> given me ideas, though, and it probably won't be hard to have covers
>> made.  If I have several of them ready to go, I can change them out each
> day.
>>
>> On 8/13/15, Jamie Principato via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>> One thing you could do is make a sanitary sheath for your cane out of
>>> the same material as the scrubs and head/shoe coverings you already
>>> use in sterile environments. It would be like a cloth tube that you
>>> slide your cane into tip first and tie off at the top of the handle
>>> with a
>> drawstring.
>>> You'll need to wash it and store it somewhere clean like you would
>>> your scrubs, but it would be more convenient than washing the entire
>>> cane by hand. You might also consider keeping a clean tip that you
>>> only ever use in sterile environments and swapping out tips before
>>> washing
>> your hands.
>>>
>>> -Jamie
>>>
>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>>
>>>> On Aug 13, 2015, at 6:08 PM, Kaiti Shelton via nabs-l
>>>> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Hi all,
>>>>
>>>> I'm hoping to work in a hospital for my job, and recently was there
>>>> to visit an ill relative.  It occured to me while I was putting on
>>>> gloves and a gown that in some situations I will need to clean my
>>>> cane as well.  Music therapists do work in isolated areas on
>>>> occasion, and also may work in preop or postop.  In this case, I was
>>>> visiting someone who had an infection that could be contageous.  The
>>>> idea of washing my hands and scrubbing up, but not sanitizing my
>>>> cane, then washing up afterwards and touching the cane again kind of
>>>> grossed me out.  Not only could it track in germs from the outside
>>>> to the sick person in the room, but it also could transfer anything
>>>> the person has back to me.
>>>>
>>>> I already do sanitize my cane because I work a lot with kids and/or
>>>> elderly people, but in this situation Lysol wipes won't always be
>>>> sufficient.  Has anyone had experience with this?  I'm just asking
>>>> around and will try the human services division as well.  I've also
>>>> asked an Orientation and Mobility Speciailist if he's ever seen this
>>>> done.
>>>>
>>>> Thanks,
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Kaiti Shelton
>>>> University of Dayton-Music Therapy
>>>> President, Ohio Association of Blind Students 2013-Present
>>>> Secretary, The National Federation of the Blind Performing Arts
>>>> Division
>>>> 2015-2016
>>>>
>>>> "You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back!"
>>>>
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>>>
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>>
>>
>> --
>> Kaiti Shelton
>> University of Dayton-Music Therapy
>> President, Ohio Association of Blind Students 2013-Present Secretary,
>> The National Federation of the Blind Performing Arts Division
>> 2015-2016
>>
>> "You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back!"
>>
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>
>
> --
> Kaiti Shelton
> University of Dayton-Music Therapy
> President, Ohio Association of Blind Students 2013-Present Secretary, The
> National Federation of the Blind Performing Arts Division 2015-2016
>
> "You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back!"
>
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-- 
Kaiti Shelton
University of Dayton-Music Therapy
President, Ohio Association of Blind Students 2013-Present
Secretary, The National Federation of the Blind Performing Arts
Division 2015-2016

"You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back!"