CS CONNECTION
Processes and performance should drive SPD improvements
by Kara Nadeau D Photo credit: witsarut |
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espite the challenges of the COVID- 19 pandemic, Central Service/ Sterile Processing & Distribution
(CS/SPD) department professionals have moved forward with initiatives to improve the effectiveness and quality of their operations. This includes redesigning/rebuilding existing departments or building com- pletely new spaces to support growing surgical and procedural volumes, and an ever-expanding array of instruments and devices.
At the same time, equipment and supply
manufacturers continue to develop and deliver innovations to help improve sterile processing workfl ows, and the quality and safety of reprocessed items for use in the delivery of patient care.
A service line specifi c approach During her career, Courtney Mace Davis, Director, Sterile Processing Department, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, IL, has seen CS/SPD rebuilds that worked, and those that didn’t. “You can have the best building in the world and I have seen it fail because the processes weren’t worked out ahead of time,” said Mace Davis. “A successful CS/ SPD design strategy requires a holistic approach, including people and processes to sustain it.”
In 2019, Skokie Hospital, part of the NorthShore University HealthSystem net- work, opened as llinois’ only specialty hos- pital dedicated to orthopaedic and spine care. The seven-year, multimillion dollar renovation and expansion established the Orthopaedic & Spine Institute, which provides advanced care and is designed for both outpatient and inpatient procedures. Mace Davis was hired to help design a new CS/SPD to support the Institute, both the physical space and the processes. Unlike other healthcare facilities where sterile processing professionals serve as
generalists, reprocessing items for a broad range of specialties and procedures, Skokie Hospital established a service line model where the CS/SPD team is solely focused on orthopaedic and spine care instrument reprocessing.
“Everyone at the Institute is an expert in orthopaedic and spine, including sterile processing,” said Mace Davis. “The tech- nicians that we hire must be able to work in an environment that is fast-paced and intense. If you expect excellence, then you recruit the best people to be on your team.” When Mace Davis joined Skokie Hospital,
the design team had just developed the ini- tial drawings for the new CS/SPD, which required capacity to serve 28 operating rooms (OR). She worked to secure feed- back from both frontline staff members and other key stakeholders, including the perioperative team and infection control/ prevention.
“Just because we were making the space bigger, doesn’t mean we were making it better,” said Mace Davis. “There were some design elements and equipment that we needed to address in order for pro- cesses to work effi ciently and effectively.” One of her initial suggestions was the
installation of pass-through sterilizers, Mace Davis showcased how it would help improve quality and reduce errors. Leadership understood the patient care implications of this choice and agreed to fund the purchase of Steris steam and V-Pro sterilizers with a pass-through design. “The costs associated with safety risks was too great not to do this,” said Mace Davis. “If we are going to be a premier orthopaedic and spine institute, the CS/ SPD needs the best equipment and tools to support the ORs.”
As Mace Davis explains, decontamina- tion is often over-looked when it comes to CS/SPD investments even though it is a critical aspect of instrument reprocessing.
30 September 2021 • HEALTHCARE PURCHASING NEWS •
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As the popular saying goes, “if it’s not clean, it’s not sterile.” Mace Davis and her team did a capacity analysis of the planned decontamination area, including the num- ber of trays that would require soaking and the time required for this step. Based on the analysis, they equipped
the new CS/SPD with six, three-bay sinks, each with an ultrasonic cleaner. The sinks, manufactured by Pure Processing, are height adjustable to support healthy staff member ergonomics. They also feature overhead lights to help technicians see bioburden. “Decontamination is hard work,” said Mace Davis. “We value the safety of our staff members and don’t want them bend- ing over sinks or struggling to see what they are cleaning.”
While the CS/SPD team members are specialists in orthopaedic and spine repro- cessing, the variety of instruments can vary greatly even within this single discipline. Recognizing the challenge technicians face in complying with instructions for use (IFU), Mace Davis and her team also placed computers at each decontamination sink where techs can scan trays and bring up the IFUs from oneSOURCE. The Skokie Hospital CS/SPD rebuild has phased go-live dates, with the entire project set for completion December 2021. “t can be diffi cult to secure resources for CS/SPD improvements because most hospitals want to spend the money on clinical care areas,” said Mace Davis. “This work is a testament to the value that Skokie Hospital places on sterile processing. Leadership understands how our work is critical to patient safety.”
A cookie cutter approach won’t cut it
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, NJ is a Level 1 trauma center with a high volume of surgical cases. With 32 ORs, the instrument tray
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