STERILE PROCESSING Experience is power


Salary Survey confi rms education, certifi cation key to SPD recognition and career success by Kara Nadeau


Photo credit: Roger | stock.adobe.com T


he average annual salary of Central Service/Sterile Processing & Distribution (CS/SPD) department


professionals is up 5% again this year, according to the results of the 2022 Healthcare Purchasing News CS/SPD Compensation Survey. As we enter the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic, job security remains high with fewer lay-offs and furloughs, but those in the fi eld report the continued struggle to secure salaries and respect refl ective of the vital role they play in patient safety.


The average annual salary for SPD Technician/Coordinators in 2022 is $49,083, up 23% from $39,833 in 2021. While CS/SPD Directors too saw a huge leap in pay, $139,867 in 2022, up 32% from 15,5 in 221, the fi gure is likely skewed by a few respondents in this category who reported salaries on the very high end of the range. CS/SPD Managers reported a modest pay increase with an average annual sal- ary of $86,756, up 8% from $80,518 in 2021, as did Surgical Instrument Technicians with $55,055 in reported annual earnings, up 7% from $51,500 last year. CS/SPD Supervisors experienced a slight bump at $58,863, up 2% from $57,778 in 2021.


Lower pay was reported among CS/ SPD Educators with average annual pay at $65,500 in 2022, down 15% from $76,944 in 2021, which could be a correction to the huge pay leap reported in this job category between 2020 ($63,846) and 2021 ($76,944). Reported pay for CS/SPD Technicians dropped as well, with an average annual salary of $41,176, down 9% from $45,156. Overall, 70% of survey respondents said


their salaries had grown over the previ- ous year, up from 64% in 2021, and 24% expect bonuses in 2022, up slightly from 22% last year.


“Overall, my view on SPD salaries is they


are still way too low,” said Debra Bohlman, CRCST, CIS, CHL, Sterile Processing Supervisor, ThedaCare Regional Medical Center, Appleton, WI. She also serves as Secretary-Treasurer for the Healthcare Sterile Processing Association (HSPA). “The trend is to up the starting pay, but


many organizations still aren’t adjust- ing salaries for seasoned workers who have stayed through the years and the pandemic,” Bohlman continued. “Sterile Processing is a physical, demanding and complicated profession, and salaries need to catch up. SPD staff members can improve the state of the profession by getting


AVERAGE ANNUAL BASE SALARY:


INCREASE OF BASE SALARY SINCE LAST YEAR?


70% Yes, it increased 24% It remained the same 6% No, it decreased


2021 AVERAGE ANNUAL BASE SALARY:


$63,617 72%


FEMALE $59,468


1% of survey respondents chose not to disclose their gender $ 38 March 2022 • HEALTHCARE PURCHASING NEWS • hpnonline.com


AVERAGE PAY BY GENDER


27%


certifi ed and taking a proactive approach to their own education.”


Many healthcare staff members have


been compensated by their employers for the extra work they have taken on during the pandemic, but CS/SPD professionals seem to have been overlooked in many cases.


“Salaries continue to [stagnate] as many SP professionals still struggle to gain the focus and recognition we all feel is deserved,” said Tony Thurmond, CRCST, CIS, CHL, FCS, Sterile Processing Manager, Dayton Childr en’ s Hospital, HSPA Past- President and member of


Tony Thurmond


the HSPA Board of Directors. “Over the past two years, SP professionals have shown their versatility and fl exibility, with many stepping out of their departments to provide additional help to those depart- ments providing patient care. While other specialties have provided that same help, it seems that those on the front lines have an increased opportunity for pay raises.” While fewer CS/SPD professionals said they were laid-off or furloughed because of the pandemic, 15% in 2022 versus 26%


$67,096


PERCENTAGE INCREASE OVER LAST YEAR


3.0%


EXPECTING A BONUS THIS YEAR? 52% No 24% Don't 24% Yes


know MALE $88,170


2012 AVERAGE ANNUAL BASE SALARY:


$55,581


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