The Nurse Stewardship Task Force along with Nurse Practice Council and Nursing Education will begin rolling out the new IV tubing change practice in the beginning of March 2017.
This process as well as an updated IV tubing label has been successfully rolled out in several units at UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill and all of Hillsborough Hospital.
The important change will be that tubing will be changed every 96 hours based on tubing expiration rather than on the standard Wednesday/Saturday days of the week. The purpose of this change is to:
- Use best practice for tubing change and align our practice with that of other similar institutions
- Decrease the number of tubing changes (most patients are at UNC for less than 96 hours)
- Decrease the number of times lines are accessed, thus decreasing risk of infection
- Save nursing time
- Save money on tubing and supply waste
The CVAD policy will updated with this change in early March. The new tubing labels will be available to order from CD soon—we will update you with ordering information once this is available.
More education and information is coming soon, but we would like to start spreading the word early to help staff prepare for this change. Here is a flyer to hang in your breakrooms, med rooms, restrooms, wherever your staff prefer to get their information. Please print the flyer and post it as soon as possible.