PLANES, TRAINS & BASKET TAGS – ISSUE NO. 263

Whenever traveling, I always try to carry on a bag vs. checking luggage. Not only do I fear that it might end up somewhere other than my destination, but I also prefer to walk out of the airport when I land. I don't like hunting around for the baggage claim and waiting for it to arrive on the conveyor belt. During my last trip I didn't have a choice, I had to check my luggage. When I arrived back at Detroit Metro Airport (the wait always seems the longest here) I noticed that all the baggage looks the same. Other than a few bright red bags, everything thing else was pretty much the standard black. It definitely made it more difficult to identify my baggage. I think next time I'll follow a travel tip I received to tie a bright color string or ribbon to my bags to make them more visible and identifiable. Travel baggage and instrument baskets have a lot in common from the aspect that they can all look alike. Using different color tags help with identification because they remain with the sterilization basket throughout the collection, decontamination and sterilization process. Don't hunt down you trays and baskets, like I do with my luggage. Be sure to use different color tags to easily identify your instrument trays.