Scrub That Operating Room Jacket: Medline Introduces PerforMAX pOweR, Industry's First Long-Sleeved OR Scrub

NEW ORLEANS, La., March 27, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Medical scrubs — the iconic baggy short-sleeved top and pants universally worn by nurses and doctors to help reduce the spread of bacteria — is getting its first major facelift since they changed colors from white to green in the 1950s and '60s.    

Medline Industries, Inc., the country's leading provider and innovator of medical scrubs, is introducing the health care industry's first-ever line of long-sleeved scrubs to help reduce the risk of infection by providing a protective barrier between the patient and a health care worker's bare arms, which can transmit bacteria. Medline introduced the new scrub this week at the 59th Annual Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) Congress, the world's largest gathering of OR nurses now in session in New Orleans, La. 

Medline developed the new scrub top in response to recent changes in surgical standards and practices developed by the AORN and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which now require many members of OR teams to wear long-sleeved jackets for the first time.

Medline's new PerforMAX pOweR™ scrub line features long-sleeves that are sewn directly into the short sleeves of the scrub top to create a more fashionable layered look.  Made of a the same material as high-performance apparel like Under Armour®, the long-sleeves fit snug around the worker's arms and provide the comfort and breathability of athletic wear. The scrubs, made of a blend of polyester, nylon and spandex, will initially be available in ciel blue and navy, both with grey sleeves and a grey modesty panel covering the v-neck. 

The latest AORN and OSHA guidelines recommend that nurses in the OR who are not wearing gowns, "wear long-sleeved jackets . . . to avoid accidental contamination of the sterile field. Long-sleeved attire is advocated to prevent bacterial skin shedding from bare arms."     

The problem many nurses have in complying with these regulations is not only finding the proper clothing that won't interact with the surgical site, but that are also comfortable and fashionable. Many long-sleeved scrub jackets or warm ups are made to be loose fitting with material that hangs down from the arm that could potentially drag across the patient's skin during the skin prep process and contaminate the surgical site and thereby putting the patient at risk for infection.  

"After the new regulations passed in 2010, we began asking nurses if they needed something new to help them comply with the new rules," said Jim Robertson, president of Medline's textile division. "Just about everyone said that the current scrubs uniform they were wearing did not meet their needs."    

Medline designed the PerforMAX pOweR scrubs in partnership with one of its long-standing customers, Myrna Chang, DHA, RN, CNOR, director of perioperative services and sterile processing at O'Connor Hospital in San Jose, Calif., who has personal experience with the challenges of OR apparel that is compliant, practical and comfortable.

"For our OR circulating nurses to stay in compliance with the new regulations, we knew we needed to wear long-sleeved apparel but we couldn't find a jacket where the sleeve did not touch the patient and contaminate the prepped area, was comfortable and that looked good," said Dr. Chang. "Both Medline and I had similar ideas about the need to produce long sleeve scrubs and I came up with the idea for a tight but elastic sleeve that did not touch the patient but kept the nurses warm in the OR and was  fashionable."

Medline tested the scrubs with the medical staff at several hospitals last summer with a resounding positive reaction. In fact, the results of the trials yielded several benefits, according to Robertson, including:

• Meeting AORN and OSHA requirements for wearing long-sleeves      
• Reducing the risk of contaminating the surgical site
• Cost reduction since the long-sleeved scrubs are less expensive than a jacket
• Convenience since the scrubs are one piece, which eliminates the search for second garment                        
• Keeping nurses, doctors, anesthesiologists warm in the OR
• Additional pockets on the shirt  are convenient for keeping important materials
• Revolutionary design that is not only practical but also fashionable

"The new design is much needed in the industry," said Dr. Chang. "Doctors, who are understandably resistant to change in their OR, expressed the most interest in the new PerforMAX pOweR scrub, which shows you that we've really hit on something with this new design."          

About Medline

As the nation's largest privately held manufacturer and distributor of healthcare products, Medline manufactures and distributes more than 125,000 products to hospitals, extended care facilities, surgery centers, physician offices and home care dealers. Headquartered in Mundelein,Ill., Medline has more than 1,100 dedicated sales representatives to support its broad product line, cost management services and clinical programs.

Over the past five years, Medline has become the fastest-growing distributor of medical and surgical supplies in the United States, serving as the primary distributor to more than 450 major hospitals and healthcare systems. As a leading distributor, Medline offers a comprehensive array of consulting and management services encompassing supply chain and logistics, utilization and standardization, business tools and enhanced reporting capabilities.

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