Cleaning Surgical Instruments: What Healthcare Facilities Need to Know Written by: Bill Warren Ensuring the sterility of surgical instruments and other medical equipment is paramount to patient safety in hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs), and other healthcare facilities, preventing cross-contamination and reducing the risk of healthcare-associated infection (HAI). But patients aren’t the only ones who benefit. By maintaining a rigorous surgical equipment cleaning process, healthcare facilities can maintain […] Tweet Like Share
Top 10 Surgery Center Architecture Firms Written by: Bill Warren Building a new ambulatory surgery center (ASC) from the ground up is no simple task. From choosing the right location and setting budgets to drawing up building plans and managing construction, there are many moving pieces to keep track of. As a more specialized project, there are certain parameters that must be met to ensure […] Tweet Like Share
Setting up your SPD for Success: 8 Reasons to Own a Backup Autoclave Written by: Consolidated Sterilizer Systems Steam is the most reliable and effective method for sterilizing medical equipment, and as a result, autoclaves are a fixture in almost every ASC’s sterilization setup. But, as is often the case, there are numerous situations in which ASCs find themselves without sufficient sterile processing capacity or a backup plan for when main units are […] Tweet Like Share
Cordyceps Sterilization: How to Kill “The Last of Us” Parasite Written by: Arthur Trapotsis In HBO’s recent adaptation of “The Last of Us,” a popular action-adventure video game, life as we know it is upended by a parasitic fungus that transforms its human hosts into zombies. The culprit? Cordyceps, a real-life genus of fungus which is best known for infecting insects (most famously ants) in much the same manner […] Tweet Like Share
Top 13 Sterile Processing Mistakes in Hospitals Written by: Arthur Trapotsis When it comes to ensuring patient safety in hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), the Sterile Processing Department (SPD) is among the last lines of defense. It’s this department’s sole responsibility to make sure that reusable instruments and devices are properly decontaminated, sterilized, and ultimately safe to use in future procedures — protecting patients from […] Tweet Like Share
Sterilization vs. High-Level and Low-Level Disinfection [a 3-Point Comparison] Written by: Arthur Trapotsis In a 1939 paper, microbiologist Earle H. Spaulding introduced a system for determining which medical devices and instruments needed disinfection and which ones required sterilization. In it, he proposed that critical instruments would need to be subjected to more stringent disinfection protocols than non-critical patient care items. Today, this framework is fittingly known as Spaulding […] Tweet Like Share
What Is Vaporized Hydrogen Peroxide Sterilization? Written by: Arthur Trapotsis Hydrogen peroxide has long been used in the healthcare industry, and in the 1970s its vapor form became a low temperature sterilization technique that has only increased in popularity. In this article, we’ll explain how the hydrogen peroxide sterilization process works, including important federal guidelines to be aware of and potential challenges. What Is Low […] Tweet Like Share
7 Best Practices for Hospital Infection Control Written by: Arthur Trapotsis In the fight against infection, healthcare facilities have many preventative measures at their disposal. Together, these best practices form an infection control policy that aims to create safe environments in which patients can heal and recover after surgeries and other procedures. Read on to find out what they are and why each is important. What […] Tweet Like Share
The Top 9 Challenges Sterile Processing Departments Face Written by: Arthur Trapotsis There’s a reason why Sterile Processing Departments (SPDs) are often referred to as “the heart of the hospital.” This is where all of a healthcare facility’s soiled surgical instruments and other devices go for cleaning and sterilization, ensuring they’ll be ready to use during future procedures. Additionally, the SPD plays a crucial role in maintaining […] Tweet Like Share
4 Key Impacts of Sterile Processing in Hospitals and ASCs Written by: Arthur Trapotsis In hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), sterile processing — the cleaning and sterilizing of soiled surgical instruments and other medical devices — is one of the most important functions for patient care. This process is so integral to the day-to-day operations of surgical facilities that many have dedicated sterile processing departments (SPDs) to ensure […] Tweet Like Share
8.14.24 Cleaning Surgical Instruments: What Healthcare Facilities Need to Know → Ensuring the sterility of surgical instruments and other medical equipment is paramount to patient safety in hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs), and other healthcare facilities, preventing cross-contamination and reducing the risk of healthcare-associated infection (HAI). But patients aren’t the only ones who benefit. By maintaining a rigorous surgical equipment cleaning process, healthcare facilities can maintain […]
8.13.24 What Is a Process Challenge Device? → Ensuring that sterilization equipment is effective and performs as intended is crucial for any lab or sterile processing department. To determine sterilizer efficacy, technicians rely on a process called validation, in which tools known as process challenge devices are used to measure their machines’ abilities to sterilize loads. In this blog post, we’ll take a […]
7.10.24 Top 10 Surgery Center Architecture Firms → Building a new ambulatory surgery center (ASC) from the ground up is no simple task. From choosing the right location and setting budgets to drawing up building plans and managing construction, there are many moving pieces to keep track of. As a more specialized project, there are certain parameters that must be met to ensure […]
