Cardinal Health Partners with Perioperative Nurse to Alleviate Impact of Heat in the Operating Room

DUBLIN, Ohio, April 8, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Cardinal Health officially launched the CoolSource™ Cooling System, a vest that was invented by Jill Byrne, MSN, RN, CNOR, and PhD student at Case Western Reserve University. Byrne sought to ease the distress of fellow OR clinicians and surgeons caused by excessive heat in the operating room. She saw first-hand how heat in the OR affected her team every day.

The Cardinal Health CoolSource™ Cooling System, is a disposable solution designed to keep clinicians cool and comfortable in the OR by reducing heat-related stress, distractions and empowering clinicians to focus more on patient care. Heat stress is known to affect cognition, and the chronic stress response can have long-term physiological effects.

"I've stood side-by-side with over-heated surgeons struggling every day to provide the best patient care possible. This sparked my pursuit to create an intuitive solution – a cooling vest – to help them stay focused," said Byrne. "Beyond performance alone, it has been inspiring to witness the positive impact on OR civility due to improved comfort with the vest."    

Heat is a pain point in operative settings, caused by temperature and humidity requirements aimed at preventing patient hypothermia and exacerbated by the need to wear several layers of personal protective equipment (PPE). 

"Cardinal Health is proud to partner with such an innovative OR nurse to bring a much-needed solution to OR clinicians," said Emily Gallo, vice president of Marketing for Surgical Products at Cardinal Health. "Through conversations with customers and advisory boards, Cardinal Health learned that heat in the OR is a wide-spread and largely unaddressed pain point. We are excited to now offer a practical solution that can have a positive impact on staff's well-being and performance."

For information about the cooling system visit: www.cardinalhealth.com/AORN2019. AORN attendees can visit the Cardinal Health booth, #1500, to try on the CoolSource™ Cooling System at the upcoming AORN Global Surgical Conference & Expo in Nashville, Tenn.

About Cardinal Health
Cardinal Health, Inc. is a global, integrated healthcare services and products company, providing customized solutions for hospitals, healthcare systems, pharmacies, ambulatory surgery centers, clinical laboratories and physician offices worldwide. The company provides clinically proven medical products, pharmaceuticals and cost-effective solutions that enhance supply chain efficiency from hospital to home. To help combat prescription drug abuse, the company and its education partners created Generation Rx, a national drug education and awareness program. Backed by nearly 100 years of experience, with approximately 50,000 employees in nearly 46 countries, Cardinal Health ranks #14 on the Fortune 500. For more information, visit cardinalhealth.com, follow @CardinalHealth on Twitter, @cardinalhealthwings on Facebook and connect on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/ company/cardinal-health.

SOURCE Cardinal Health