Sterile Processing

If you are reading this, you value infection prevention and control. This article fits into that passion for one simple reason: sterile processing departments (SPDs) are pivotal to this value. The SPD critically serves surgical patients with instrument and other durable equipment for patients throughout the hospital.

Hospital operating rooms (ORs) and ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) must confront more than their fair share of challenges in the current healthcare environment. Many facilities are working with limited capital and non-capital budgets; facilities have cut back on spending. Volumes of surgical procedures have been reduced as a notable percentage of people are unexpectedly without insurance due to job losses. Those patients are procrastinating on surgical procedures while they search for new employment.

One of the most common questions related to the sterile processing department (SPD) is this little gem, asked by surgeons, nurses and scrub techs: why does it take so long to get our sets up to the operating room (OR)? The demand for faster turn-around of surgical instruments is constantly hampered by a number of time-related challenges. In addition, when processes are fragmented and the instrument management process is less than ideal, turnaround time can also increase.

Reusable medical devices come in all shapes and sizes, from specula to colonoscopes. Generally, these devices have expensive compo-nents that require them to be cleaned and disinfected or sterilized. This article describes the salient points for validating that a medical device can be safely reused. It covers disinfection processes, not sterilization. The cleaning validation information contained within is germane to all reusable medical devices.

Central sterile supply departments (CSSD) are known by a variety of names in different facilities. Some go by central service, central processing, surgical supply and processing, or maybe sterile supply and distribution. Sometimes the name of the department helps the other areas of a healthcare facility to identify their specific functions.

ICT spoke with Steve Maley, CSPDM, CHL, manager of sterile processing at Crouse Hospital in Syracuse, N.Y. and president of the New York State Association of Central Sterile Professionals (NYSACSP), for an update on the status of efforts to make certification mandatory for all central sterile professionals as a condition of employment in New York state.