I remember being passionate about inventing at an early age. In the years since my childhood dream of being an inventor, my pathway took me first to bedside nursing and then practicing as a healthcare architect for most of my career. Now in this last chapter of my journey, I am focusing on my childhood passion by designing healthcare products. 

Although there are many products that would be easier to launch compared to a healthcare product, my heart stands with nurses. I want to design products that support nurses in the care they provide to their patients and products that support a safe and efficient environment of care for both patients and nurses. 

My inventing journey has been a very steep and expensive learning curve. As a nurse innovator and solo entrepreneur from a rural state, I have not had the resources and mentorship of my innovator colleagues lucky enough to live in an urban center. I am self-taught, which may explain the many years of maneuvering circuitous pathways that did not always lead to results. I have learned a lot. My journey has taken tenacity and grit, both of which have been necessary to navigate this uncertain terrain. My heart is with nurses, so I persist.

The Story Behind T-BIN™

“Using the top of the overbed table for soiled tissues and trash is an infection control issue. I used the overbed table to put in lines when in the ICU. It’s disgusting. When are overbed tables ever cleaned?” This is a quote from a nurse participating in a focus group about how bedside soiled tissues and trash disposal are not being adequately addressed.

This same sentiment was echoed by numerous nurses that I have talked to about bedside patient trash disposal. Thinking back on my experience as a bedside nurse, I remember the time and steps associated with cleaning out emesis and bath basins that were full of mucous-y tissues. Since patients cannot reach the trash can on the floor, tissues and trash simply get left on top of the overbed table or put into improvised trash receptacles such as emesis and bath basins. 

By doing this, cross contamination becomes a serious issue. Nurses often use the overbed table for clean tasks since the overbed table is the closest horizontal surface in close proximity to the patient. Clean items now come into contact with a dirty, contaminated surface. Non-valuable time added to clean basins is a waste of staff resources and preventing patient harm from healthcare-acquired infections (HAI) should always be a priority.

My decision to focus on healthcare product development centered on this critical problem and coming up with a very simple solution—a single patient use, plastic disposable ring that attaches to a patient’s overbed table with a paper container that drops into the ring to hold trash. You can see a more detailed description of the T-BIN™ here.

Since coming up with the concept, I have created 3D-printed ring prototypes for beta testing. I have also shown the T-BIN™ system to nurses at national conference booth spaces. One nurse who saw the T-BIN™ simply said, “It’s genius!”

Lack of Insights Lead to Learning Opportunities 

Armed with glowing nursing reviews and my prototypes featured in my T-BIN™ marketing overview, I set out to get a license agreement from a medical supply company. I contacted companies with similar patient care products to promote the T-BIN as the perfect complement to their existing bedside patient product line. Universally, I heard the same message: “I love your product. I see that it solves a problem. But what are your existing sales?” 

After many of these conversations, I came to realize that I needed to pivot. I needed to beta test the T-BIN™, validate the need for a safe and efficient patient trash disposal product and create proof of concept. Collateral documentation for these three milestones was created to support the need for a safe, clean, and efficient patient trash disposal bin.

Beta Test

Through a shark tank-style pitch to the Veterans Affairs (VA) Healthcare System, I had the opportunity to beta test the T-BIN™ at 9 sites across the US with 100% of VA Infection Preventionists surveyed recommending the use of the T-BIN™.

Validation

I conducted swab tests in the patient’s environment of care and documented the level of bioburden on the patient’s overbed table and other patient care items such as TV controls, bed controls, water pitcher, urinal, incentive spirometer, patient phones, and patients’ hands. The swab tests showed the level of contamination of the patient environment and strongly reinforced the need for advocating for every patient to “wash” their hands with wipes upon admission, as well as providing the T-BIN™ as a convenient way to dispose of their wipes. 

Proof of Concept

Nurse surveys conducted at the National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists revealed both the need for a safe, clean, and efficient patient trash disposal bin, but also the support that the T-BIN™ received from nurses who are intimately involved with their Value Analysis Teams.

Best Practices for Performance Improvement focus on patient outcomes, patient and staff safety, efficiency, cost reduction, and minimizing risks. My goals for developing the T-BIN™ cover multiple aspects of the healthcare environment:

• There are an estimated 2 million HAIs per year at a cost of $40,000 - $80,000 per infection
• Mitigating risk for HAIs reduces HAI treatment costs
• Cleaner patient environment supports HCAHPS reimbursement
• Eliminating the need for plastic bath and emesis basins reduces plastic basin costs
• Reducing plastic waste reduces plastic waste disposal costs
• Reducing plastic waste is friendlier to the environment
• Reducing staff time on the patient trash removal process impacts staffing costs
• Reducing non-value-added work and tasks helps reduce nurse burnout
• Increasing staff time on patient care improves patient outcomes
• Enhancing staff efficiency and safety promotes staff satisfaction and retention

Accomplishing these milestones was instrumental in my product development process. I am moving forward on a dual pathway to launch the T-BIN either through a licensing agreement or through creating a startup. My inventing journey continues.

Follow Your Passion

As nurses, we are uniquely positioned to intimately understand the intricacies of bedside nursing and the products necessary to support safe, efficient, and healing patient care. My journey as a nurse innovator has been filled with many disappointments, numerous words of encouragement, rich relationships, and the incredible kindness of fellow nurse innovators willing to share their time, experiences, and expertise. I hope my story resonates with those of you who have also had an inventing dream. We are all on this journey together. 

‍Kerrie Cardon, BSN, RN, RA is a registered nurse, healthcare architect, nurse innovator and entrepreneur. Kerrie’s innovation and product development efforts center on healthcare products that support safe, efficient and healing environments for everyone with a specific focus on both clinicians and patients. She can be reached at Kerrie@BisonCreekInnovations.com.