The $375,000 project nearing completion in the pharmacy department of Battlefords Union Hospital is the first of its kind to be installed anywhere in Canada.
The project, which includes construction and installation of a MisteriumTM Modular Clean Room within the pharmacy department, is aimed at enhancing the care and safety of cancer patients receiving chemotherapy treatment at the facility. It will also benefit other patients requiring medications to be administered via the blood stream.
"The MisteriumTM Clean Room is actually a 'room within a room' inside the pharmacy department," says Shelly Horsman, Director of Acute Care Services at Battlefords Union Hospita.
"With the clean room, chemotherapy patients and patients requiring intravenous additives can be assured an even higher level of quality assurance and expertise in the preparation of their vital medications," Horsman added.
The Clean Room consists of two state-of-the-art sterile work areas or 'rooms' where medications are combined to create chemotherapy treatments and where medications can be added to intravenous solutions as required.
The 'hoods' under which the medications are prepared are separately and directly filtered and safely ventilated to the outdoors, improving safety for pharmacy technicians working with the chemicals, says a media release issued by the Prairie North Health Region. The rooms provide a modern, sterile, safe environment that meets today's regulatory requirements, the release adds.
"Under the direction of our pharmacists, the clean room will strengthen our ability to meet the ongoing challenge of ensuring medication accuracy and safety in both preparation and delivery of chemotherapy and IV drugs," Horsman said.
The cost of the project is approximately $375,000, funded by Prairie North Health Region in its 2012-2013 capital budget.
Battlefords Union Hospital Foundation has committed a total of $47,000 to the project to support two key elements: purchase of a camera system for the chemotherapy clean room to accurately record and register each chemotherapy compound prepared to enhance patient safety; and purchase of a special fridge to ensure the safe storage of chemotherapy medications.
Horsman said Battlefords Union Hospital Foundation continues to be a tremendous asset for all patients, staff and physicians at BUH through the generous support the organization provides.
"We are grateful to the Foundation for its unwavering contributions to helping BUH achieve its goals of better health, better care, better value and better teams focusing on patient- and family-centre care and continuous improvement."
