Nominate your team for HPN’s 16^th annual CS/SPD Department of the Year award

The winning Central Service/Sterile Processing Department will be featured on the cover of the September 2008 issue of Healthcare Purchasing News as recognition of the winning department’s outstanding contributions to patient care and to the CS/SPD profession. HPN is looking for entries that tell the story of the many ways that CS/SPD professionals add to the valuable mix of patient care and safety.

Entries will be judged on elements in the following 5 areas:

Customer service – How the department has handled supply processing and distribution for internal customers, including the operating room and nursing floors.

Productivity – How the department has increased output, improved service levels, and enhanced quality, cost savings, and patient benefits.

Teamwork – How well department staff members work together; how they work to make the department greater than the sum of its parts.

Education and training – How well the department prepares staff members to do a safe, cost-effective, efficient job; how well it prepares members for career advancement.

Strategic outlook – Does the department have a strategic plan? What does it entail? What are its elements of innovation, creativity, and originality?

There are no limits on the length of your entry, and it is helpful to document any claims made.

A judging panel of respected central service professionals from across the country, as well as HPN staff representatives and our editorial advisory board, will evaluate each nomination in the five areas above.

For the nomination, highlight as many specific, measurable achievements and goals over the past year. Please don’t forget these elements about the nominated department: name, telephone number, number of full-time equivalents, scope of responsibilities, and number of beds at the facility.

Also, for your nomination to qualify, please be sure to comply with the following rules:

1. Any nomination must be original and exclusive to HPN and not have been submitted – either original or edited – to any other publication or online media outlet currently or within the previous year.

2. GPO, distributor, manufacturer, software company and consultant support is commendable, but we’re looking for internally driven details beyond those contributions.

3. Any nominated organization must be willing to share relevant basic financial details with us (in dollar and/or percentage format), including annual revenues, annual expenses, annual purchasing volume and annual savings.

Deadline for nominations is Friday, June 27, 2008.