Connect with this month's featured Advertisers:

2008 Sterilization Leadership Conference calls thought leaders to action:

With the goal of advancing sterilization best practices through multi-disciplinary collaboration, the inaugural Sterilization Leadership Conference featured expert speakers from a variety of backgrounds, invigorating panel discussions on pressing issues and hot industry topics, and plenty of networking opportunities. Throughout the conference, attendees were challenged with the question, "What will I do to advance the practice of sterility assurance?"

In her opening keynote address, Victoria Nahum, co-founder and executive director of the Safe Care Campaign, reminded attendees of the importance of their work in affecting patient care outcomes. Nahum shared the unforgettable story of her family’s devastating personal experiences with healthcare-acquired infections. Three members of her family became infected with HAIs, in three different hospitals, in three different states in just 10 month’s time, culminating with the death of her 27-year-old son Josh one month after he was injured in a skydiving accident.

Underscoring the significance of this tragic event as representative of a much larger crisis in the U.S. healthcare system, Nahum added, "This is not an anomaly; it happens every day." With the theme Change One Thing, Change Everything – The Power of One, she poignantly illustrated how an even seemingly insignificant action in the care of patients can set off a chain of events with potentially serious consequences. By putting a face to the problem of HAIs, and through her untiring work with the Safe Care Campaign, Nahum inspires leaders to step up to the plate to reduce HAIs.

Further exploring the negative impact of HAIs, Bob Gorbold, attorney at law, Kavanagh, Grumley and Gorbold LLC, presented A Legal Perspective: The Ramifications of Errors in Patient Care. Gorbold provided attendees with a glimpse inside the courtroom at what healthcare facilities can expect to encounter in the event of a medical negligence claim. He discussed the importance of having appropriate policies and procedures in place along with proper documentation providing evidence that standards of care were followed – as well as the potential consequences when facilities do not enforce compliance to guidelines that promote best practice and ultimately reduce errors in patient care. "If it’s not documented, it didn’t happen," he emphasized.

In her presentation, Exposed…Under the Regulatory Spotlight, Jackie Daley, director, infection prevention and control at Sinai Hospital in Baltimore, MD, spoke about the changing nature of healthcare and how sterile processing professionals need to continually stay abreast of industry regulations. Providing the leaders with information that can be used in their own practices, Daley discussed mounting pressures on the sterile processing profession including public reporting of infections, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Pay for Performance Initiative and the Joint Commission’s unannounced survey process and tracer methodology. Stressing that quality assurance and patient safety are ongoing processes that start with Central Sterile, Daley challenged attendees to "engage staff of their role in patient safety" and to "move from a punitive culture to an open and collaborative one." She added: "Do not just get staff to do their work, but to do their best."

In a panel discussion on The Role of the FDA, AAMI Standards and Science to Protect Patients from Healthcare-Associated Infections, Bryan Becker, regulatory affairs specialist, 3M Health Care, Cynthia Spry, independent consultant, and Sue Klacik, manager, central services, St. Elizabeth Health Center, Youngstown, OH, related how these organizations play a part in developing "best practice" policies and procedures. Becker provided a history of the FDA and its role in medical devices, 510k’s and standards recognition, noting that while the FDA regulates products and manufacturers to ensure the products are safe and effective, "decisions on frequency and use of monitoring products are up to you."

Spry, who is a member of several AAMI Working Groups writing and editing recommended practices – including co-chairing the committee responsible for the ST79 Steam Sterilization recommend practice – provided information on the role of AAMI as an organization, how documents are crafted by each working group, and, the significance of AAMI standards in the practice of sterilization in healthcare facilities. She noted that AAMI membership is a simple process and encouraged the audience members to join. "I think the more representation we have the better," she said. "Particularly on this committee, we are always looking for [end] users. We want to hear more from you."

Producing a final AAMI document is "no small feat," according to Spry because a consensus is required and not just a majority vote. "But that also means that when you’ve got something, you’ve got something you can bite into," she said. "There’s a lot of clout behind that."

Sue Klacik presented information on how SPD managers can use the AAMI standards in the development of cutting edge policies and procedures that address key aspects of facility design, dress code, prep and packaging, decontamination, staff qualifications, and training. A panel discussion, facilitated by Martha Young, CSPDT, senior technical service specialist, Sterilization Assurance, 3M Health Care, provided the attendees an opportunity to get answers to their top-of- mind questions, including extended cycles.

On the final day of the symposium, Spry, Daley and Klacik led a session called Multidisciplinary Collaboration between SPD, OR and Infection Control. In an opening presentation, Spry noted that in healthcare "problems are complex and often involve many stakeholders," and that "we learn best outside of a vacuum – working with people who have similar concerns." She also highlighted that collaboration promotes "ownership of outcomes" as well as "diversity of ownership." While not always an easy process, effective collaboration can lead to improved processes, potential reduction of errors and improved patient safety.

The session continued with two entertaining role-playing skits simulating a recall due to positive BI test results, and an extended cycle dilemma. Rounding out the session, Spry shared her thoughts on how to make an informed decision on whether ‘to buy or not to buy’ when a new product comes on the market, again emphasizing the importance of collaboration between all stake holders – as well as thorough research. "You must be able to defend your decision to go ahead," she said. Return on investment (ROI) considerations should be part of any new product evaluation, including safety, improved efficiency, improved quality, cost/benefit, liability, impact upon the environment, potential for increasing the possibility of error, impact on the use of other products, and education requirements, to name a few.

Addressing Challenges with Managing and Tracking Loaner Instrumentation, Rose Seavey of Seavey Healthcare Consulting Inc., highlighted why controlling loaner instrumentation is essential to safe patient care. She also discussed the importance of managing the process for loaning and borrowing of surgical instruments and implants, and why policies should be developed in conjunction with the OR, SPD, and vendors.

In a discussion on Process Improvement and Optimization through Lean Thinking, Victor Klein of Rucker and Associates and Gloria Lockett, vice president, ISH Inc., shared information on the core principles of lean manufacturing and its application to healthcare and sterile processing. "Work processes should be geared toward efficient and quality production of inventory to support customer demands in a timely manner," said Lockett. Attendees also related their own successes with using lean within their respective facilities.

In her presentation - The SPD of Tomorrow: What Do SPD and OR Managers Need to Be Effective Leaders? - Seavey reviewed some of the history of sterile processing and the OR, and then took a glance into the future at what the profession might look like in the next five plus years. She, along with the sterilization leaders, explored the future of SPD and OR and the effects it will have on how facilities do surgery, and what expectations lie ahead for SPD and OR personnel. Seavey then discussed new opportunities for the SPD and highlighted the need for increased critical thinking skills, continuing education, and mandatory certification for SPD staff. She closed the session with the attributes of a leader and how these professionals need to stay abreast of technology, regulators, and standards so they can lead the future before the future leads them.

The conference culminated with an energetic and highly interactive panel discussion including questions and answers on hot topics such as Class 6 chemical indicators, reducing flash sterilization, product testing of new instrument trays and the need for more end users to participate in AAMI.

The final take-home message for attendees was that sterilization leaders have a real opportunity to improve patient care and prevent HAIs through strong collaboration with the OR and Infection Control.