Author: Megan Pietura

Solutions for Growing Challenges in Instrument Reprocessing: How Departments can Address New, Additive Processes

Posted on by Megan Pietura

Sterile processing and endoscopy might feel like it’s in constant evolution. In just a couple short years, departments have been faced with finding solutions for the pandemic, ANSI/AAMI ST91 updates and the new ANSI/AAMI ST108 standard, a job market turned on its head, increasing surgical volumes, and so much more.

Some of the most disruptive changes occur when workflows get jolted: certain steps get added, others removed, manual labor needs increase, or challenges creep their way in through vendor trays, add-ons, and more.  Technology is also a contributing factor to disruption. In 5 years’ time, what changes could be expected in surgical instrument design? What new equipment could your department be asked to integrate?

Below are 4 trends taking over instrument reprocessing, and considerations to make if they’re happening in your department.

 

#1: Quality Assurance Testing

Protein and ATP (adenosine triphosphate) testing are strongly recommended by standards such as ANSI/AAMI ST79 and ANSI/AAMI ST91

for increased quality assurance. They can be excellent gauges to ensure processes are hitting certain standards. Departments should however be careful to consider how these additive processes integrate into existing workflows.

If your department uses any form of quality assurance testing, whether ATP, protein, borescope inspection among others, these might be consideration points to reduce harmful ‘noise’ they could introduce:

  • Space: Dedicating space & storage for testing kits, readers, borescopes and more protects the integrity of the devices themselves and provides room to stage instrumentation.
  • Power: Borescopes especially require additional outlets. Separating borescope inspection in an area like decontamination and integrating into a station which supplies electrical outlets can make integration that much smoother. As well, this dedicated area can reduce damage for delicate borescope catheters.
  • Computers and/or tracking systems: Results from QA testing might need to be uploaded into a computer or tracking system. If record-keeping is done manually, then that area also requires space for test results. Separate stations can mitigate clutter at QA areas.

#2: Increased Soaking

In the early 2010’s, the addition of longer robotic instrumentation with increased soaking times forced sterile processing to funnel resources into decontamination. Delayed endoscope reprocessing, too, put pressure on endoscopy departments to accommodate long soak times .

If your department requires extended periods of soaking, separating these instrument sets or scopes from standard throughput sink basins removes bottleneck risks. Instrumentation can soak without clogging up workflows.

Extended soaking also requires accessories such as timers, temperature gauges, dosing pumps, and others. Consider setting up dedicated areas just for soaking functions, which can convert to cleaning basins as volumes increase.

Departments which are taking on increasing surgical volume for certain specialties may need to go so far as integrating entire separate sink systems to accommodate special instruments sizes, steps and volume.

flushing robotics 003

#3: Instrument Trays

Whether wrapped or in rigid containers, both sterile barrier systems introduce challenges to workflows.

For departments consolidating wrapping, or changing their proportion of wrapped versus rigid use, considerations around wrap storage should take place. If wrapping is done in multiple areas of assembly, is wrap centralized toa single, shared location, or easily accessible for staff? Minutes can accumulate into hours wasted across multiple technicians when they makeshift extra space or wait their turn for the designated station. Is wrap being inspected before use? Lighted wrap tables can integrate both storage for blue wrap, wrap supplies, and

introduce large, dedicated areas where wrapping is required. Built-in lighting also ensures wrap and instrumentation is functional before loading into sterilizers.

If loaner trays are already a staple in your department, then tray weight might be a concern. Before having overweight vendor trays to sneak into your department, a scale station could be integrated at check-in stations. Providing immediate feedback to vendors on overweight trays can reduce compliance and ergonomic complaints. Scale stations which are mobile can also be moved to other areas where they’re required.

#4: Record-Keeping

With digital record-keeping needs becoming the standard practice, so too does the need for power. Dedicated stations which integrate outlets, mounting infrastructure for monitors and under-table storage for computers can go a long way into making stations less cluttered. Protecting powered items is also a point of consideration. Are the IT accessories cluttered on top of each other, with power cords strewn about? Or are items organized and away from water and damage risks?

 

Sterile processing and endoscopy departments must be prepared for a world of non-stop change. Quality assurance, record-keeping, a change in tray configurations and increased assurances in manual cleaning all have the potential to disrupt workflows. But these changes don’t always require major investments or purchases. Scalable, flexible solutions which can be built and organized for your department’s unique needs are available, and make change must easier to take head-on.

 

Preparing to add quality assurance testing, and need dedicated areas to do so? Or are overweight vendor trays making their way into your department? Contact us today to learn about easy-add solutions for all department spaces!

2024 Sterile Processing State of the Industry Report – Actionable Insights

Posted on by Megan Pietura

The annual State of the Industry Report delivers unique, interesting insights for SPD professionals across the country. The survey often affirms known challenges, while simultaneously shedding light on new and emerging ones. What can leaders and managers do with all this information?

Here are some actionable insights from the 2024 Sterile Processing State of the Industry Report.

 

Finding great people

People are entering the sterile processing industry in a variety of ways. Interestingly, the largest group of respondents indicated they had no knowledge of sterile processing before taking their first role.

  • Found open position without prior knowledge of SPD: 37.43%
  • Referred by a friend or colleague: 18.63%
  • Moved from another department in the hospital/facility: 31.11%
  • Pursued education at a university/college with the intent of starting a career in SPD: 12.83%

Actionable insight: 62.57% of participants entered the sterile processing industry from within the healthcare field, via referral, or because of personal aspirations. Leveraging your professional and personal networks is a great way to find your next teammate.

 

Building a great team around what SPD techs enjoy about their work

We asked participants to identify the aspects of working in sterile processing that they enjoy the most. Participants submitted free responses, with some incorporating more than one aspect of the job they enjoy.

  • Impact on Patient Safety: 45%
  • Continuous Learning & Variety of Work: 30%
  • Sense of Accomplishment & Importance of Work: 19.78%
  • Problem Solving & Challenging Work: 11.74%
  • Teamwork & Collaboration: 10.43%
  • Playing a Behind-the-Scenes Role: 10%

Actionable insight: Technicians that love working in sterile processing have and share many similar traits. When hiring for open spots on your team, it may be a good idea to look for candidates with the following qualities:

  • Caring
  • Curious
  • Open to learning
  • Team-oriented
  • Stands behind their work
  • Interested in the well-being of others

 

Turning common problems into opportunities

We asked 2024 Sterile Processing State of the Industry Survey participants to identify the most common problems they see in SPD. Participants were able to select three choices.

  • Space: 52.17%
  • Equipment: 38.37%
  • Management: 27.98%
  • Work Culture: 33.27%
  • Pay & Benefits: 72.97%
  • Training & Education: 45.37%
  • Compliance: 16.64%
  • Ergonomics: 13.23%

 

Actionable insight: Issues regarding space, equipment, and compliance could be the source of workarounds and shortcuts being taken in sterile processing departments. If you’re seeing shortcuts being taken or an increased lack of compliance, assessing your space, how it’s utilized, and whether the equipment your team has at its disposal will likely serve as a good starting point toward addressing compliance concerns.

 

Listen to your team

We asked participants, “What is a problem that should be easy for sterile processing departments to resolve today?” and gave them a text box for free responses. Several themes emerged from the free responses, with some participants mentioning more than one problem in their replies.

  • Training & Education: 66.96%
  • Equipment & Technology: 10.49%
  • Staffing & Workload: 9.15%
  • Compliance & Standards: 6.92%
  • Communication & Coordination: 6.92%
  • Process Efficiencies: 3.35%
  • Quality Control: 1.12%
  • Safety: <1%
  • Resource Allocation <1%
  • Culture <1%

 

Actionable insight: Many participants cited training & education as an easy problem to solve in the SPD. Asking your team what kind of training or education they’d like to see offered then leveraging free training provided by industry resources can help fill education gaps and let your team feel heard. Developing a consistent training schedule will help teams feel supported and well-trained, helping to build & maintain their industry knowledge and confidence.

 

Ready to turn even more insights into action items for your department?

These actionable insights are just the tip of the iceberg; to maximize what was learned in the 2024 Sterile Processing State of the Industry Report for your department, check out our other blog posts detailing findings and takeaways ahead of the 10.1.24 publishing of the report:

Interested in using pre-built assessment tools in your department right now?

Scan or click the QR codes below for access to free tools that can help you assess your department:

SPD Ergonomic Checklist       Luminosity Compliance Checklist

2024 Sterile Processing State of the Industry Report – Executive Summary

Posted on by Megan Pietura

Pure Processing’s annual industry reports provide useful insights, trends, and challenges through the eyes of sterile processing professionals working in SPD daily. Through these responses and insights, managers and leadership can open a window into what SPD professionals are seeing and thinking in new ways, and across the country. This year’s 2024 Sterile Processing State of the Industry Survey (results used to create the 2024 Sterile Processing State of the Industry Report) incorporates the responses from 569 SPD or SPD-related individuals from across the United States. This executive summary highlights some of the major themes and challenges identified within the 2024 Sterile Processing State of the Industry Report.

 

Patient Safety

The importance of sterile processing’s role relative to patient safety is top of mind for SPD professionals, in more ways than one. Not only was a shared sense purpose regarding patient safety something that participants considered to be a major factor that made a department great to working, but the way their work contributes to patient safety is a core facet of why they enjoy working in sterile processing, generally.

 

Training & Education

Training & education was a common theme throughout the survey and report. Key considerations participants mentioned were consistency of training & education opportunities, access to training & education on-the-clock, getting hands-on training with instruments and equipment from vendors, and determining competency more than once a year.

68.29% reported their department putting a strong emphasis on training education. Educators were considered to have the most influence on training & education in departments. Surprisingly, 12.94% of “Other” responses indicated that no one was influencing education in their department.

 

Pride in SPD

Pride in the work they do and knowing the impact they have was shared among many of the participants. Even while acknowledging things like challenging, physically demanding work, poor compensation, and lack of appreciate & recognition, pride in the service they provide for the hospital, OR, and patients was on full display.

 

Pay & Compensation

As many in sterile processing can likely relate to, pay & compensation arose as a concern and common problem in the 2024 Sterile Processing State of the Industry Report. Key concepts in this area focused on the importance of the role SPD plays in a healthcare setting, the level of knowledge and expertise required to execute the job effectively, and the compensation of other healthcare positions, such as scrub techs, being disproportionate to theirs.

 

Entering the Industry

With referrals by friends or colleagues, moving from another department within their facility, and pursuit of a career in SPD accounting for 62.57% of entrances into the industry, managers are probably still well-suited utilizing their professional network to identify their future teammates.

 

Leaving Sterile Processing

While many expressed an enthusiastic, committed disposition toward sterile processing and their time in it, they didn’t shy away from acknowledging what drives people out of the industry, aside from compensation. Lack of appreciation was the top reported reason for SPD professionals to leave the industry, followed by the physical demands of the job, with lack of upward mobility and a career ladder coming in third.

Leadership & Management

Leadership & management styles were pointed throughout the report, with areas of opportunity emphasizing consistent accountability of all teammates, advocating for SPD teams, creating opportunities for teams to grow professionally, and facilitating good communication.

One other key point made was the need to have leadership with a background in sterile processing, with many denoting the frustration that comes with reporting to someone that is perceived to lack an understanding of all that their department is doing.

Misunderstood

In many respects, participants felt that their sterile processing departments are fundamentally misunderstood. Misunderstood by executives, by OR staff, and even their leaders. Aspects surrounding the perceived misunderstanding include what exactly SPD does, the impact it has on facilities, the way they contribute to patient safety, and the knowledge required to do the job well.

Many participants noted their disappointment in the perceptions that SPD are “dish washers” and that their work is effectively entry-level, despite the certifications, education, and experience that contributes to successful execution of SPD’s responsibilities.

 

Interested in getting more insights from the 2024 Sterile Processing State of the Industry Report? Check out other blog posts detailing results from the report ahead of its 10.1.24 publishing!

2024 SPD State of the Industry Report Insights: Key Year-Over-Year Takeaways

Posted on by Megan Pietura

The 2024 Sterile Processing State of the Industry Report included responses from 569 participants across the United States, illuminating interesting trends, insights, and challenges. To get a better understanding of the direction SPD is heading, emerging problems, and consistent trends, comparing insights year-over-year is a valuable activity.

Here are some of the key comparisons, denoting how some things are changing, while others are staying the same:

 

GI Crossovers

Slightly fewer participants indicated prior experience in GI in 2024 (49%) vs 2023 (54%). Despite that dip, this figure still represents about half of the survey participants, with a larger sample size in 2024 reaffirming that there is considerable crossover between GI and SPD departments.

 

How people are entering the industry

  • Found an open position without prior knowledge of SPD: 2023 saw 43.27% of participants starting their SPD careers without prior knowledge of the industry. That percentage dropped slightly in 2024 to 37.43%.
  • Referred by a friend of colleague: 28.65% of 2023 participants were referred to their first job in sterile processing. That number dropped by almost exactly ten percentage points, down to 18.63% in 2024.
  • Moved from another department in the hospital/facility: Moves within current healthcare facilities saw the largest change year-over-year, more than doubling 2023’s 14.62%, with 31.11% of 2024 participants indicating this is how they found their way to SPD.
  • Pursued education with the intent of starting a career in SPD: 2024 saw a slight dip in the number of participants that pursued education to enter SPD professionals at 12.83% compared to 2023’s 13.45%. This seems to indicate that roughly 13% of those working in SPD make a conscious choice to get into the industry before joining the workforce.

The most noteworthy change is almost certainly the number of people moving to SPD from somewhere else in their facility. This information should factor into how managers are filling roles in their sterile processing department, as there appears to be either a shift or further affirmation via larger sample size that movement within facilities is particularly common.

What sterile processing professionals enjoy about their work

In 2023, Patient Safety/Care (28.29%), Variety of Work (11.71%) and Importance of Work (10.24%) were the top three aspects of work SPD pros enjoyed the most. The same held true in 2024, with Impact on Patient Safety included by 45% of participants, Continuous Learning & Variety ofWork cited by 30% of participants, and A Sense of Accomplishment & Importance of Work being factoring into job satisfaction by 19.79%.

It is clear that these three components have considerable staying power in the minds of those working in SPD, and departments will likely benefit from reinforcing and fostering a culture that promotes them to maintain morale and staffing levels.

 

Why people leave SPD

2024 shares many similarities with 2023 regarding the top reasons technicians leave a sterile processing department. While the percentages moves up and down slightly, the top three reasons, in the same order as 2023, were Lack of Appreciation, Physical Demands of the Work, and Lack of Upward Mobility. Management Style came in at fourth, just like 2023 as well.

One key difference is what 9.15% of participants signaled as the fifth-top reason departments lose good technicians: Work/life Balance. Work/like Balance was not reported in 2023’s report. Even more interesting, the item replaced by Work/life Balance, Nature of Work (9.56% in 2023), wasn’t represented in 2024 responses.

 

Interested in more insights and information from the 2024 Sterile Processing State of the Industry Report? Check out our other blog posts detailing findings ahead of its publication on 10.1.24!

Understanding Ergonomic Injuries in the Sterile Processing Department: A Critical Issue in Healthcare

Posted on by Megan Pietura

Unless you’ve worked in a healthcare setting or know someone who’s worked in a sterile processing department (SPD), you don’t have a true understanding of how vital and instrumental this department is to their hospital. The sterile processing department is the number one resource center for patient safety and infection control. Sterile processing is usually a 24-hour, 7-day a week department that enables all the other ancillary departments of the hospital to continuously run safely and efficiently. Sterile processing supplies instrumentation to ancillary units, including all scheduled and emergent surgical cases. SPD is solely responsible for meticulously following all processes and procedures outlined in every instrument manufacturer IFU’s (instructions for use). Doing this ensures proper high-level disinfection, decontamination, sorting, counting, inspection, and sterilization of every individual surgical instrument used in the operating room.

 

The sterile processing department faces many challenges in their everyday responsibilities that can put them at risk for an ergonomic injury. In fact, most technicians will spend over 75% of their working hours either standing at tables to assemble and wrap surgical trays or hunched over at decontamination sinks, most of which are not ergonomically designed. Staff are normally standing, bending, picking up heavy trays, pushing, pulling, and performing other repetitive movements that may put each individual worker at an elevated risk for ergonomic injuries.

Ergonomic Risks and Challenges

Healthcare workers are at risk for multiple types of ergonomic injuries due to the daily work challenges. The sterile processing department is no exception.

 

SPD technicians’ awkward postures during instrument handling and cleaning, along with the repetitive motions during sorting, inspecting, and packaging can lead to various ergonomic injuries. The lifting and carrying of heavy instrument trays and containers also leave room for more injuries. The impact of having to fulfill these responsibilities and not having the ergonomic equipment or support from your leadership can cause avoidable injuries to take place.

 

If one or more of your workers are out on leave or seeking workers’ compensation due to an ergonomic injury, this can be very costly to the department.  This not only affects the individual who suffered an injury, but the entire department. When an SPD technician is injured on the job and requires time off, this can put a higher demand on other workers to produce more with less staff, and thus put them at a higher risk for injury themselves.

 

In my personal experience, I’ve seen the effects on departmental productivity due to ergonomic injuries. With one to two technicians out in a department of 20-30 FTEs for a month at a time can cause a decrease in surgical tray turnaround by at least 10-20%. Leadership may also have to hire contract staff to fill these productivity gaps.

 

The morale of your department and the struggle to produce will also affect your ability to meet the demands and needs of the operating room. The need to improve musculoskeletal health over time is a crucial cost savings initiative for you and your department.

 

Common Ergonomic Injuries

The most common injuries seen in sterile processing departments are musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) such as back pain, shoulder strains, and carpal tunnel syndrome.  Soft tissue injuries are another highly reported injury due to repetitive movements and poor ergonomic practices. This is common with lifting heavy trays, syringe flushing, and constant back bending at non-adjustable sinks or tables.

 

Contributing Factors

There are a multitude of factors within sterile processing environments that contribute to ergonomic injuries. One example is inadequate workstation design and layout. Insufficient training and education on proper lifting techniques and ergonomic principles is another factor. High workload and time pressures leading to rushed tasks with minimal staffing equally contribute to injuries and non-compliance concerns.

 

Strategies for Prevention

Initiative is key to resolving ergonomic concerns. There are a couple strategies to get started:

  • Implementing ergonomic assessments and regular evaluations is one strategy for identifying these issues.
  • Providing ergonomic training and education for staff members.
  • Investing in ergonomic equipment and tools to reduce strain and improve efficiency.
  • Height adjustable sinks and workstations improve ergonomics where 75% of repetitive-motion injuries occur.

 

Moving Towards Sustainable Solutions

Healthcare institutions should prioritize ergonomic safety in sterile processing departments for the future of its staff. The importance of collaboration between healthcare providers, administrators, and ergonomic specialists must be at the forefront of our designs and future investment planning.

 

SPD leaders must keep ergonomic safety at the center for capital purchases involving equipment and department layout to ensure a healthy and safe workplace. Sterile processing employees dedicate so much of their life to this vital role within healthcare, and as leaders within the industry, we must put emphasis on continuous improvement and adaptation of practices to prevent future injuries and promote a healthier workplace.

Looking for ways to immediately improve ergonomics in your department? Contact us today to get a free Ergonomics assessment of your space! 

Endoscope Manual Cleaning: The Challenges that Impact Our Effectiveness

Posted on by Megan Pietura

Cleaning verification and improved visual inspection requirements provides a better understanding of sterile processing practices, patterns and outcomes; it sheds light into how truly effective our processes are. With this added awareness we can recognize weaknesses in processes and target imperfections at their root. With quality management systems in place, we can improve handling, point of use treatment, and process flows. However, cleaning verification is still a reactionary measure and doesn’t directly correct the discrepancies that are identified. It is only one part of the whole in reprocessing improvements.

We see many proactive upgrades and improvements to our automated processes: pass-thru sterilizers and AERs, washer/disinfectors with attachments to hook up cannulated instruments to name some. But what about our manual cleaning process? What practices do we have that could be improved? We have automated flushing devices that aid in standardized and measurable consistency, automated leak testers and required soak times to ensure appropriate enzymatic contact time. But what about the manual process of brushing?

Brushing uses friction to loosen and sweep debris and gross soil from inside the channel, but often requires multiple passes. The quality of clean isn’t immediately identified without the use of borescope inspection or cleaning verification.

Challenge 1: Endoscope Design & Integrity

We know that endoscopes and reprocessing have been under stringent surveillance and for good reason! Ofstead and Associates released a graph showing a quarter over quarter increase in reports to the FDA of endoscope adverse events with insufficient reprocessing being a contributing factor. More than 8000 events were reported in Q2 of 2024 alone.

Scopes are complex in design and for nurses and technicians, much of the manual reprocessing is done blindly with little visualization during the cleaning phase. In addition to the complex design, there is also expected wear and tear that occurs with repetitive use. This wear and tear can lead to scratches and imperfections that go unidentified and are great area for harboring bacteria, bioburden and biofilm formation.

Complex design and integrity of channels leads to questions such as:

  • Is the brush pliable enough to conform to the imperfections and brush away debris and bioburden that may be caught up in the crevices and scratches?
  • How effective is the brush’s design? Is there validation behind the instructions for use that prove its impact on cleaning?
  • Is the functionality in the design sufficient for variables in scope conditions and level of gross soil?

Challenge 2: Outdated technology

Technology such as automation, software and medical device design changes rapidly and often at a pace we can’t keep up with. Yet, we continue to see redundancy and little advancement in much of our manual processes and the tools provided to complete the work.

Manual cleaning can include leak testing, rinsing, soaking, brushing and flushing. Though some of these processes have been automated, there are still areas of opportunity  to improve our outcomes and ease the process on our technicians. Things like updated design, material compatibility and universal use can aid in outcomes, ease of accessibility and technician experience.

A process such as brushing can remain manual, but still have improvements. Using already existing technology like squeegee material, sweeping methods and bristle design and placement can result in a time savings, ergonomic improvements and ultimately cleaning effectiveness.

Challenge 3: Variance in practices

Variance in practices extends beyond tech-to-tech differences. We can see variance by the same tech that results from:

  • Fatigue
  • Reprocessing competency
  • Environmental influences:
    • Scope volume
    • Scope types
    • Staffing availability
  • Endoscope design
  • Cleaning supply versatility

Look at your brush inventory and count the variety of brushes and the different brush manufacturers. Each one is probably slightly different than the other.

Variances to some degree are to be anticipated. However, as we continue to look at our practices against standards, regulations and best practices, it is with due diligence that we objectively look at what we can do to fall closer in line with standardized expectations and outcomes.

Conclusion:

From design to technology and the variety of materials and techniques, each factor can create a unique challenge that may not immediately pose a risk, but may lend to issues later on in the process.

Brushing is acknowledged as an important component to proper endoscope reprocessing practices (ANSI/AAMI ST91: 7.6) and worth further investigating to identify best practice and validation. Understanding the challenges, conducting risk analysis and researching updated practices and technology can improve support, processes and confidence in the quality of work complete.

 

 

Resources:

ANSI/AMI ST91: 2021

Reprocessing Stories: Resolving Ergonomic Challenges in Henry Ford’s GI Department

Posted on by Megan Pietura

Over the past 37 years, Kate Jahnke has served her patients and staff at the Henry Ford Health System across multiple departments, 20 in GI. Jahnke’s journey into the position was somewhat serendipitous. She transitioned into GI after an initial role in the ER and since 2020, she’s been working at Henry Ford Health System, Columbus, first as a contingent and then full-time. When her long-time supervisor left, she was encouraged to step into the role. Jahnke is also accompanied by longtime team member April Helton, who has worked alongside Jahnke as a medical assistant for 16 years.

Henry Ford & Jahnke’s Super Star Team

Jahnke’s department operates in a freestanding ambulatory site; a three-story building that is part of the Henry Ford Health System. This system includes their main campus downtown and several ambulatory sites across the area, as well as a larger department in West Bloomfield Hospital. Her site operates five days a week, reprocessing approximately 150 procedures a week or around 30-38 procedures daily. Jahnke is proud to say her team is staffed with the highest quality endoscopy techs. As Jahnke states:

“Our loyalties I think are rare… and the camaraderie is rare. Anytime we get a big group of people, especially women, we support each other in many aspects of our [personal] and our work lives.”

This mutual support creates an enjoyable and fulfilling workplace. The Henry Ford team takes pride in the quality of their care, and their patients can sense that positive environment. It’s part of the secret that inspires Jahnke and her team.

 

Ergonomic Concerns in Decontamination

While Jahnke and Helton had the superstar team, their department struggled with ergonomic challenges. Their fixed-height sinks were leading to back pain and poor working postures for a team of people with varying heights. Helton shares:

“Our biggest issue was that we have varying heights among our technicians. So, our sink was kind of low. And that was a problem for a lot of our taller technicians, who had to bend over to work at them.”

In addition to including height-adjustability into their new endoscopy sink’s design, Jahnke’s goal was also to update and improve functionality, workflow, and durability compared with the old sinks. According to Jahnke:

“We were looking for something that was updated, down to the fact that our sink had been used since 2012. There was some wear and tear on it, old plumbing, and leaks. They weren’t functioning any longer.”

The department needed a solution that addressed these concerns and provided an ergonomic space for the team.

Consultation Process with Pure Processing

Jahnke first learned of Pure Processing through other ambulatory sites within Henry Ford System, which had recently opened and implemented PureSteel™ Healthcare Reprocessing Sinks. The success of these projects, and the satisfaction of the facilities, led to Pure Processing being brought in to help with this project.

While the consultation and design process was standardized and streamlined due to previous collaborations, Pure Processing representatives, were “really helpful and easy to talk to”, to according to Jahnke. Having worked on similar projects at other sites, they brought valuable experience and familiarity to the table. However, they faced unique challenges due to the age and size of the building; the decontamination space was limited compared newer buildings on campus.

Installation Hurdles

Logistics presented significant challenges regarding installation of the endoscopy sink. The older building wasn’t equipped with a loading dock, which created unique challenges associated with delivering the sink. Additionally, the layout of the building made navigation to the reprocessing space difficult, requiring partial disassembly of some components. Their representative was onsite for the install and helped remedy challenges as they arose.

Despite these challenges, Jahnke explained “Anytime we had one of these hurdles and we reached out, my representative was very receptive and made things right. And any issues that had occurred during that time were outweighed by the benefits now from the sink. While the installation was not smooth, it was corrected, and everything worked out.”

A New Decontamination Sink’s Impact on Morale

Since implementation of the new PureSteel™ Healthcare Reprocessing Sink in Jahnke’s department, overall satisfaction has been high.

“The new sink has been a lot better than our old sink. I hear a lot less complaints about having to be in [decontamination], and it’s a lot more comfortable. It’s so much nicer having the freedom to position our tools and materials where we need them. It’s definitely an improvement for us”, stated Helton.

Additionally, the ability to place shelves and necessary items in more convenient locations has had a substantial impact in terms of improved workflow and overall functionality.

Helton also stated that there have been some unexpected benefits stemming from the new decontamination sink, such as improved lighting, organization, and ergonomics.

“Having that overhead lighting definitely made it easier to see into the water to detect leaks. And the pegboard back has been very helpful with all of the different attachments and adjustability. We can move things where we wanted them, we can attach everything to a bin, and put it on the pegboard. So all of that is very helpful, and it’s easy to clean.”

 

Departments come in all shapes and sizes. In the case of Jahnke and Helton’s GI department at Henry Ford Health System Columbus, the age and design of the building created unique constraints that posed challenges to implementation that could have derailed the project. It was the ability to partner with a vendor that could accommodate unique installation challenges and improve not only ergonomics, but functionality, workflow and compliance, that secured Henry Ford a successful new sink installation.

Looking to solve some unique problems in your department? We’d love to help!

The Sterile Processing Struggle: Agency vs In-House Staffing

Posted on by Megan Pietura

By Kyleigh Graham ST, CRCST, CHL, CIS

Now-a-days, there are few sterile processing departments out there that can say they have not been affected by agency staffing services.

Your SPD team has either fallen victim to losing some great staff members due to travel recruiters offering them better pay and advancement opportunities, or you as a leader have had to make some massive budget cuts in other areas of your department to be able to meets the needs of your customers by hiring immediately-available contracted SPD technicians.

The question remains, how do the leaders in the sterile processing industry mitigate this problem?   What are you and others in SPD leadership doing to turn this around?  The answer is not simple.

Here are some ways agency staffing services affect our department’s culture and staff, and most importantly the future of sterile processing, and what we might do to counteract these effects.

Impact to Compliance & Outcomes

Agency-staff hired in SPD can have a massive impact on compliance in your department. Everything operates differently in this relationship. Contract staff are usually hired very quickly and fast tracked through orientation. Agency staff are rarely able to be given the same training and onboarding as your internal staff. They are expected to be industry experts in this field quickly, especially if being paid at a premium rate.

For leadership, it is nearly impossible to onboard these individuals in the same manner when you only have them for 12 to 16 weeks at a time.  Subsequently, this can cause variations in daily practices and protocols, and in a department that relies so deeply on compliance, this can be detrimental to process outcomes.

Involving C-Suite

The most important factor in mitigating compliance and cultural challenges is education and collaboration with your C-Suite. You as a leader must know what needs to be done, and then find an effective and efficient way to communicate your needs.  A starting point I would recommend is to collaborate with your hospital’s education systems to propose the possibility of introducing a 13-week SPT class and certification preparation to draw in and retain newly certified staff.

Another suggestion is an open invitation to everyone in the C-suite for a tour of the department, maybe during SPD week, and include infection prevention, employee health, and your director.  Use this open platform to advocate for your people and educate others on the importance of your role in the hospital.  Sterile processing is the heart of the hospital and without “us”, no other department functions properly.  As a leader within the industry, I am a firm believer that this is just another part of our mission; to advocate for your employees’ and department’s needs to better serve our patients.

 

Impact to Culture

Agency staff can also have a massive impact on your department’s culture and morale.  I personally have seen internal staff members become frustrated that the agency is doing the same work and being paid at a much higher premium rate.  This can cause unnecessary turmoil within your department and take the focus off the process and patient and onto staff focusing on each other’s work. Other bigger issues arise from that, too.

 

Marketplace Adjustments

The obvious and initial thought would be an overall market adjustment for our internal SPD staff.  This would allow us to obtain and retain highly trained internal staff and lessen the demand and cost for agency staff.  Easier said than done!

In order to accomplish such a big feat working with HR would be a top priority.  Before approaching HR, I would suggest working with and educating your immediate director and the C-Suite on these issues; to ensure you have their support.  This will be a lengthy process and require compiling and sharing multiple data trends showing staff turnover, the cost of each agency technician, and lastly a clear plan to mitigate this ongoing issue.

SPD leadership, what are your thoughts on embarking on this journey together?

Looking for more information articles regarding Staffing & Retention? Dig into all our Reprocessing Report blog posts, here!

2024 GI Reprocessing Landscape Report Insights: Key Year-Over-Year Takeaways

Posted on by Megan Pietura

The 2024 GI Reprocessing Landscape Report surveyed hundreds of GI reprocessing professionals across the country and yielded interesting insights (if you haven’t read the report, it can be downloaded here). One substantial benefit of annual surveys and reports, however, is the ability to compare insights from the previous year to better understand how trends, challenges, and perceptions are evolving year-over-year.

Here are some of the notable changes in our 2024 reports compared to 2023:

SPD Crossovers

In 2023, 58% of participants signaled having previous experience in sterile processing departments. In 2024, that number rose to over 67%; a notable increase. One potential driving factor of this increase could be the implementation of recommendations made to ANSI/AAMI ST91:2021, leading hospitals to consolidate endoscope reprocessing to sterile processing away from GI, or a shift in job responsibilities.

Further, training and education allowing for technicians and nurses to become multi-disciplinary within facilities, filling in for SPD and vice-versa could result in more GI professionals obtaining experience in SPD.

How people are entering the industry

In 2023, 81.57% of participants indicated that entered the GI department from another healthcare-related field or department. The same held true in 2024, with just over 81% of participants again citing previous healthcare work preceding their time in GI. This should be a signal to managers and others in leadership that one of the best places to look to fill roles is within your own facility. Lateral career changes from departments within the hospital like sterile processing, the OR, facilities maintenance or similar positions may offer new opportunities for people already employed at your facility.

 

Common problems seen in GI reprocessing departments

2023 saw inadequate space (56.25%), lack of training & development opportunities (55.65%), and poor investment in technology and equipment (51.30%) identified as the top three most common problems participants saw in GI reprocessing. In 2024, these problems remained the most common in the eyes of participants, with inadequate space and lack of training and development opportunities being pointed to by over 52% of participants each.

Poor investment in technology and equipment, however, dropped to 40.84%. This drop from 51% in 2023 could signal that investment in GI departments has seen an uptick from 2023 to 2024. Alternatively, it could be indicative of a generally higher sense of satisfaction related to the tools and equipment GI professionals have at their disposal.

 

 

Easy problems to solve

21.37% of participants cited training & education as the top easy problem for departments to tackle in 2023. In 2024, this number grew to 28.24%. This may be the result of stagnant training practices within departments but might also be a sign that GI professionals see ample training & education opportunities to take advantage of, but they aren’t being prioritized or given the time or resources to act on them. GI nurses and technicians are seeing the need for additional training and education as scope complexity increases, and view vendor in-servicing as underutilized by their department.

 

16.24% considered technology and equipment challenges as being easy to solve in 2023. Equipment and technology was knocked out of the top three easiest challenges to solve by participants in 2024, with 15.88% of participants pointing to processes as the second-easiest problem for GI departments to solve, with equipment and technology falling to 5th with 10% of participants. While this could be viewed as a change in priorities among participants, it could also be a shift in how the problem is perceived. Investment in equipment & technology is often the catalyst for changes and optimization of processes. The rise of processes as an issue to address may indicate that nurses and technicians recognize that equipment and technology, while certainly drivers of process changes, isn’t the only way to improve them. Further, changes in guidelines and IFUs and growing volume may be fueling the need to streamline and overhaul existing processes to be more effective.

 

The most important problems to solve

Lack of training and certification was deemed the most important problem to solve by participants in 2023, with 14.52% pointing to it. IFU compliance came behind it at 10.48%. While compliance remains the second most important problem to solve with 19.30% of participants expressing concern over it, training and education dropped to the third most important issue GI should tackle with 18.71% of participants pointing to it. Processes was the most important problem in the eyes of GI professionals in 2024, with 19.88% signaling the need to improve.

These results, coupled with the results regarding which problems are perceived as being easy to solve could indicate that GI nurses and technicians see the need to optimize processes within their departments, and see the methods by which to accomplish these optimizations, but don’t see a means of getting the changes implemented.

 

What makes departments great to work in

People and teams continue to be what GI professionals find important when assessing what makes a department truly great to be a part of. 55.12% of participants cited people and how teams work together as the top factors associated with great endoscopy departments. 2024 saw that grouping expand to 66.50%, with 34% referencing their teammates and staff directly. Other factors included a shared sense of pride or purpose, a healthy work culture fostered by the team, and having a patient-centric mentality related to their work.

 

Why people are leaving GI/endoscopy departments

39.62% of participants pointed to working conditions, such as stress, ergonomics and burnout as the factor contributing most to departures from GI departments. In 2024, that number grew to 40.11%, demonstrating staying power among participants and continued concerns with working conditions. Lack of upward mobility remained in the second position, but dropped from 21.70% in 2023 to 15.25% in 2024, while lack of appreciation fell from number three in 2023 with 16.04% of participants citing it to just 7.34% indicating lack of appreciation as contributing factor related to turnover. Management style grew from 5.66% in 2023 to a noteworthy 14.12% in 2024.

 

Upcoming challenges

While many things have changed from 2023 to 2024, the top three challenges GI professionals see growing in 2024 are:

  1. Compliance, guidelines, and IFU requirements (33.29%)
  2. Staffing (23.86%)
  3. Endoscope design, single-use, complex, reusable, etc. (14.15%)

Interestingly, these percentages are slightly lower than last year, aside from endoscope design, which was representative of just over 14% of participants in 2023 and 2024. Cleaning verification requirements was the fourth challenge participants foresee growing in importance in 2024, with 7.39% represented.

 

The endoscope reprocessing industry is always changing. From the updates presented in ANSI/AAMI ST91, to the growing rate of preventative colorectal cancer screenings in the US, to healthcare worker burnout, major trends are shaping the way we reprocess endoscopes. By studying these year-over-year comparisons, leaders and staff can better equip themselves to plan, organize and provide quality outcomes for their patients.

 

Interested in diving into more of the 2024 GI Reprocessing Landscape Report results? Download the entire report for free today!