Sterile Processing Technicians: Preparing for Survey
Jill Holdsworth, MS, CIC, FAPIC, CRCST, NREMT, CHL, and Katie Belski, BSHCA, CRCST, CHL, CIS, spoke at the HSPA Annual Conference about being survey-ready. Listen to ICT's interview to learn more!
How do sterile processing technicians prepare for a surveyor to walk through the door? Do they know the questions they may be asked? Do they know the answers to those questions? What are the surveyors looking for?
That was the topic of the presentation given by Jill Holdsworth, MS, CIC, FAPIC, CRCST, NREMT, CHL, manager of infection prevention for Emory University Hospital Midtown, Atlanta, Georgia; and Katie Belski, BSHCA, CRCST, CHL, CIS, quality and patient safety coordinator at Ascension Columbia St Mary’s Hospital.
Their presentation was titled “Get Survey Ready! Quality and Infection Prevention Regulatory Hot Topics” at the Healthcare Sterile Processing Association (HSPA) Annual Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, from April 20 to April 23, 2024.
After their presentation, Holdsworth and Belski spoke with Infection Control Today® (ICT®) about their key points and the challenges that sterile processing technicians face today.
“Our presentation covered quality and infection prevention regulatory topics,” Belski said. Team members will be survey-ready. Jill and I are passionate about this topic. Working closely in sterile processing ourselves, we've recognized the importance of the relationships that need to be formed between quality and infection prevention to feel comfortable.”
One of the key takeaways from their presentation is to round together with environmental services and facilities. Holdsworth explained. “With environmental services and facilities, it's important to bring them into your rounds and round at the same time, rather than everybody rounding at separate times. It's also important to know the AAMI standards and read those [and] try to follow them. We talked a lot about what all the different standards say. And it's just really being engaged. If you're an infection preventionist, spend time in the sterile processing department, understand what people are seeing as issues, and be viewed as a partner, not an auditor, so that we can all partner together and work together. We don't need to be working separately; we need to be working as team members.”
Find other coverage from HSPA 2024 and previous years here.
CDC Urges Vigilance: New Recommendations for Monitoring and Testing H5N1 Exposures
July 11th 2025With avian influenza A(H5N1) infections surfacing in both animals and humans, the CDC has issued updated guidance calling for aggressive monitoring and targeted testing to contain the virus and protect public health.
IP LifeLine: Layoffs and the Evolving Job Market Landscape for Infection Preventionists
July 11th 2025Infection preventionists, once hailed as indispensable during the pandemic, now face a sobering reality: budget pressures, hiring freezes, and layoffs are reshaping the field, leaving many IPs worried about their future and questioning their value within health care organizations.
A Helping Hand: Innovative Approaches to Expanding Hand Hygiene Programs in Acute Care Settings
July 9th 2025Who knew candy, UV lights, and a college kid in scrubs could double hand hygiene adherence? A Pennsylvania hospital’s creative shake-up of its infection prevention program shows that sometimes it takes more than soap to get hands clean—and keep them that way.
