Warm Blankets Offer More Than Just Comfort
One of the most basic yet beneficial ways to offer great patient care before or after a medical or imaging procedure is to offer a warm blanket. It sounds simple but covering a patient with a heated blanket can make a huge difference to a patient, both immediate and long-term. In addition to reducing anxiety and providing comfort, maintaining a patient's core temperature has great benefits too!
Benefits of Blanket Warming
Hypothermia is defined as any decrease in the normal body temperature of 98.6 degrees. It is one of the more common complications that is experienced by patients during or immediately following a procedure. Hypothermia can contribute to morbid cardiac events, patient discomfort, a decrease in the metabolism of drugs, coagulation difficulties, and the risk of surgical site infections. By covering patients with a warm blanket, you greatly reduce the likelihood of hypothermia and help eliminate these complications. Patients who are given a warm blanket experienced reduced intraoperative bleeding, saw faster recovery times and encountered decreased incidences of tachycardia and hypertension.
National Hospital Week 2021
This week, May 12-18, is National Hospital Week. The American Hospital Association began celebrating National Hospital week more than 90 years ago to “celebrate the history, technology and dedicated professionals” in hospitals. National Hospital Week is an opportunity to highlight our hospitals, health systems and health care workers and the innovative ways they are supporting the needs of their community members.