Aligning Infection Prevention and Sterile Processing Through IFU Clarity and Collaboration

At the 2025 Healthcare Sterile Processing Association Annual Conference, Garrett Hollembeak, CRCST, CIS, CHL, CER, CIC, a system infection preventionist in medical device reprocessing with Bon Secours Mercy Health, addressed a crucial but often overlooked challenge: ensuring alignment between infection prevention and sterile processing professionals on manufacturers’ instructions for use (IFUs). With a specialized focus on reprocessing and high-level disinfection, Holmbeak highlighted how disjointed IFU expectations can undermine both safety and compliance.

His presentation emphasized the need for facility-wide clarity about which IFUs can realistically be supported given existing workflows, equipment, and documentation practices. He also introduced tools—such as AI-based reconciliation platforms—that can help facilities compare manufacturer requirements with their available reprocessing capabilities.

This presentation focused on how we help our [infection preventionists] and [sterile processing] professionals be aligned on which, if we use our facility, can support, which ones they can't support,” Hollembeak told Infection Control Today^®. “And then if we do bring an IFU in, how do we audit compliance to that in a way that is feasible for the technician, and it's going to be documented in a way that IP can go back in 5 years, and 10 years, and make sure that all of our records are aligned with our process.”

The session examined how incomplete or impractical IFUs often get passed down to sterile processing teams without adequate support, despite the impossibility of meeting every specification. Holmbeak underscored the importance of proactive evaluation before bringing new devices into service, and he outlined criteria that IFUs should meet to be actionable and auditable.

From his experience as a frontline technician, SPD manager, and now an IP, Hollembeak celebrated how conferences like HSPA’s energize professionals by sharing proven solutions. Seeing real-world wins from peers not only validates frontline challenges—it also equips attendees to bring practical improvements back to their own facilities.

“My favorite part about the conference is that it gives you a lot of boost for getting through the day-to-day,” Hollembeak said. “You get around other people who are passionate about the field. They're implementing best practices in their site, and you get to see the victories that other people are having in their own departments. And then you encapsulate all that. And you say, ‘Hey, you know, John did it at this facility, or Donna did it here at her site, I can implement this best practice in our system.’ And so I’m always grateful to HSPA for this annual conference.”