HSPA | Strategic Alliance Partners

Improper handling of insulated instruments can lead to serious complications, including fatal surgical site infections for patients and staff.

Sterilization in hospitals often lacks coordination with other departments, which may hinder knowledge exchange and performance. What can be done to overcome this challenge?

Are you attending the HSPA 2023 Conference in Nashville, Tennessee, from May 6-10? Check out this list to see the best things to do while you’re in town.

Sterile Processing Week runs from October 9 through 15. Julie Williamson, of the Healthcare Sterile Processing Association, explains why appreciation goes a long way with this vital group of hospital professionals.

The HSPA 2022 presentation focused on sharing new and future sterilization standards updates.

Jill Holdsworth, CIC, FAPIC, NREMT, CRCST, manager of infection prevention at Emory University Hospital Midtown, joins ICT® to discuss the implications of her research, as well as other guidance for building an optimal relationship between infection prevention and the sterile processing department.

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

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.”

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

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.

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.”