Sterile Processing

A letter has been sent to more than 4500 veterans stating that reusable instruments used in medical procedures may not have been sterilized properly at a Georgia hospital.

Take 5 minutes to catch up on Infection Control Today’s highlights for the week ending March 4.

Staff shortages, public recognition, and moving out of the medical field are all issues that the sterile processing industry has faced.

The ability to be an excellent infection preventionist requires lifelong learning and taking the initiative to grow professionally.

The successful combination of products and the adoption and application of science-based practices will help the sterile processing profession rise above challenges to protecting frontline technicians.

Those dental practices that come out of the COVID-19 pandemic with an appreciation of and renewed commitment to infection control best practices will maintain the trust of their patients and survive, whereas those that scoff at the costs of doing the right thing will not.

There are many facets to creating smarter, healthier health care spaces through infection control and prevention, but these tips can help generate a cohesive, adaptable and curative plan.

Take 5 minutes to catch up on Infection Control Today’s highlights for the week ending December 17

Dental instruments may not seem as invasive as the instruments used in medical surgeries, but they still pose the same dangers.

“[Personal protective equipment] was splashed during most activities and did not prevent skin exposure even when properly donned and doffed,” the study states.

The electrostatic sprayer method kills nearly 100% of pathogens. It also kills the COVID-19 virus. But is that overkill?

La’Titia Houston MPH, BSN, RN, CIC: “We work not only with the bedside nurses and the sterile processors, but even with our clinicians, our physicians. They want a timeout before the procedure is even performed because they want to ensure that the scope did pass during the high-level disinfection procedure.”

No health care worker is immune from the dangers of handling sharps. Physicians hold a rate just under that of nurses, mostly related to use of scalpels, but are less likely to report these injuries.

Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) bioluminescence needs technological enhancement if it’s to reach its full potential as a disinfection tool, says a study.

Crystal Heishman, MBA, MSN, RN, ONC, CIC: “You don’t ever want to go into a sterilization department and say, ‘You’re doing this wrong’. Because they’re the subject matter experts. You want to learn. You want to learn the process. You want to work together because it makes a stronger partnership.”

Take 5 minutes to catch up on Infection Control Today’s highlights for the week ending October 22.

Brian Flannigan: “The reason why water quality and water safety is so important in sterile processing is that there have been direct connections made between the water systems and hospital infections: operating room infections, asset life problems, maintenance problems, staining and discoloration of equipment.”

The International Association of Healthcare Central Service Materiel Management (IAHCSMM) has joined forces with the Association of Surgical Technologists in hiring a federal lobbying firm, McAllister & Quinn, to help enact hazard pay for sterile processors, surgical technologists and surgical assistants for their work during COVID-19 in 2020 and 2021.

IAHCSMM’s Damien Berg: “COVID-19 put a light on sterile processing professionals in a positive way. We became a force multiplier in the hospital by the things we did. And we got known.”

Take 5 minutes to catch up on Infection Control Today’s highlights for the week ending July 23.

The high-level disinfection process of an ultrasound probe, when indicated, includes documentation that demonstrates high-level disinfection was performed, and patient identifiers were documented to link the ultrasound probe to the patient. This is often referred to as traceability.

Non-ventilator-hospital associated pneumonia prevention is quickly becoming the hot topic among infection preventionists.

Infection preventionists are integral members of the extended sterile processing department team and can be among the department’s biggest supporters.

Holly Taylor, MPH, CIC: Using retired IPs can “create a little bit more bandwidth within the department when you have potentially prolonged vacancies because we do know that IP staffing vacancies last longer than other health care vacancies.”

The infection prevention department at Ascension Texas managed to shore up IP ranks by calling a couple of IPs out of retirement and asking another if she would postpone her retirement during a COVID-19 surge.

At the intersection of surgery and infection prevention resides a sometimes-neglected opportunity to further minimize infection risk by modernizing choices and innovation.

The International Association of Healthcare Central Service Materiel Management is the premier association for professionals in health care central service/materiel management. IAHCSMM provides structural educational opportunities, professional development and a forum for information exchange to more than 38,000 members and certificants. For more information, visit http://www.iahcsmm.org.

Many infection preventionists trust that everyone working in the operating room knows what they are doing and many times shy away from going into the OR. That's a mistake.

The FDA wants providers to know about “contamination issues associated with reprocessing urological endoscopes, including cystoscopes, ureteroscopes and cystourethroscopes—devices used to view and access the urinary tract.”

Tanya Lewis, CRCST: “I just think that infection preventionists and sterile processors should always work as a team. It should always be a team effort. It’s not them or us. It’s not sterile processing. It’s not infection prevention, but it’s us as a team. And that’s the way we’re going to keep our patients safe.”