Empowering SPD Through Quality Management: A Look Inside an HSPA’s Preconference Workshop

At the HSPA Annual Conference in Louisville, Kentucky, a pre-conference workshop was presented by Hannah Schroeder, BSHA, CRCST, CIS, CHL, CER, clinical education specialist at Pure Processing, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and focused on elevating sterile processing departments (SPDs) through a deeper understanding of quality management systems (QMS). The session introduced attendees to AAMI ST90—a lesser-known but powerful standard that complements ST79 and ST91.

“We [were able] to discuss things like understanding where stakeholders are in our quality management systems, who are our advocates, who are our end users, who gets to actually work this management system out?” Schroeder told Infection Control Today^®. “And we talked about how to build quality processes and discuss some of those quality measures, and how do we verify the outputs that we're that we're presenting to our customer bases, our [operating rooms], our clinics, and ultimately, our patients.”

The workshop aimed to demystify QMS frameworks, helping participants define key components, identify stakeholders, and evaluate the quality outputs SPD teams deliver daily. Emphasis was placed on mapping out who is involved in quality—ranging from infection preventionists and facility managers to IT teams and vendors—and how this multidisciplinary support can be leveraged for greater departmental success.

Using real-world examples, the session explored how QMS data can tell a compelling story, from equipment performance and productivity trends to service gaps and staffing needs. Discussions highlighted loaner tray oversight and the integration of new products and service lines, reinforcing the value of robust quality metrics.

“We have to advocate and justify the need for new or updated equipment,” Schoeder said. “We need to advocate for an increase in teams, staffing, or flexibility in our scheduling. And some of those answers can fit into how do we handle our QMS, and then taking our QMS back, taking that story and utilizing it to answer those questions and to bring that justification forward. It gives us a clearer indication and a better avenue of discussing exactly what it is that we need.”

In today’s environment, where SPDs must justify requests for new equipment or increased staffing, QMS provides the evidence-based foundation to drive improvements. Attendees walked away with actionable insights on building support across departments and using quality data to champion meaningful change.