SterilTek Announces New SPD Triage Center

In response to demand for sterile processing process improvement support, SterilTek, Inc. announces it has launched a Web-based resource for healthcare administrators, the SterilTek SPD Triage Center (www.SterilTek.com). The site provides administrators with immediate and direct access to information and tools that help them identify improvement opportunities for their sterile processing functions.

Todays healthcare administrative model is less about expansion and more about operating as efficiently and productively as possible. Weve consistently heard from hospital administrators and clinicians that they are under constant constraints to do more with less," says George Godfrey, director of project and process design management at SterilTeks parent company, STERIS Corporation.

Administrators must be more thorough and innovative than ever before to help their facilities improve productivity and stay viable and strong," Godfrey adds. They are looking for experienced industry experts who can innovate and help. STERIS has been providing process improvement services for decades. We were the first manufacturer to provide project design support (1954) and the first to provide products to support the new clean side/dirty side" concept of sterile processing (1965), so our innovative-yet-proven approach continues to add value to the process improvement discussion."

The new SterilTek SPD Triage Center provides Customers with checklists and other information-gathering tools they can use to work towards becoming high-performance SPDs. The SterilTek process improvement triage process includes four stages; assessing the current situation, initiating improvements, measuring productivity and success, and sustaining the changes. To help with that initial assessment, the new site offers interactive sections to help customers identify some of the most common challenges they face: how to identify workflow bottlenecks, determine how to best use their staff, determine staff education levels, measure the effectiveness of the current SPD, evaluate existing equipment, or simply to determine where they need to start.

SterilTek process improvement services help to ensure that a hospitals SPD, the engine that drives its surgical productivity, is running at the highest possible RPM (in terms of productivity and quality) with its existing staff, infrastructure and equipment," says Godfrey. Through comprehensive audits of current practices, workspaces, and resources, and through conferences with SPD staff, surgical staff and surgeons, SterilTek consultants develop a thorough diagnosis. They help hospitals put in place best practices that are reinforced and maintained by visible metrics, predictive and preventive maintenance programs, and ongoing education and training. All of this helps ensure that the sterile processing department can meet the demands of an ever-changing and demanding healthcare environment.

The new SterilTek website is yet another assistive tool in the full array of STERIS services that support process optimization and best practices. These include such expertise as the new STERIS University web-based, instructor-led and customizable on-site contact hour education and certification programs; ProConnect Response Center equipment connectivity and predictive maintenance capabilities; room and equipment planning services, and round-the-clock customer support available online, by phone or in person.