 Receives Special Award From Ketchikan General Hospital August 08, 2003
Ketchikan, Alaska - Steve Rachow, a Certified Surgical Technician at Ketchikan General Hospital (KGH), has invented a device that can save $15.00 in patient costs each time it is used in surgery. A conservative estimate places the savings throughout the entire PeaceHealth System at about than $50,000 per year. According to information provided by Ketchikan General Hospital, Rachow's device is used when a surgery is performed on only one of the patient's legs, for example anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) surgery, or knee arthroscopy. Inflatable stockings, used in these surgeries to promote circulation during anesthesia, come in pairs costing $30 per pair. The stockings are each connected to a sequential circulation device, which has outlets for two stockings. Previously, if only one stocking was used, the other needed to be plugged in anyway, and therefore went to waste. Rachow's device replaces the second stocking with a plug, saving the patient $15. "The plug is reusable, easy to make and it works," said Rachow. Applications are being completed by KGH to the Food & Drug Administration for approval of Rachow's device. In the photo, Rachow holds the plug he invented (left) and in the other hand the inflatable stocking worth $15 which would otherwise be thrown away. Rachow received a special award
from the Ketchikan General Hospital Governing Board at their
August 1st meeting for his ingenuity and concern for keeping
patient costs down.
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