he 2011 Annual Meeting schedule is well underway and the meeting is quickly shaping up to be IAHCSMM’s finest to date. Taking place May 1-4, 2011, at the Marriott Hotel in Louisville, KY, the Annual Meeting will feature IAHCSMM’s widest array of educational offerings – many of which will be new to attendees and provide unique, hands-on material that can immediately be applied to Central Sterile Supply Departments.

IAHCSMM’s pre-conference hands-on workshops have quickly become an attendee favorite and the workshops at the Louisville meeting will undoubtedly have plenty to offer. Session topics will include: the difference between sterilization validation and verification; cleaning difficult instruments; total knee instrumentation; sterilization process failure troubleshooting; care and handling of endoscopes; selection and implementation of a computerized tracking system; building orientation and annual competency programs; marketing the CSSD; and writing for publication or Fellowship, among others.

Healthcare humorist and keynote speaker Diana Jordan, who has appeared in major motion pictures and was named one of the funniest people on the planet by Oprah Winfrey, will officially kick off the meeting. Jordan, who turned her focus to healthcare following her mother’s illness, will serve up a healthy dose of healthcare-related humor and insights that will be sure to motivate, inspire and leave attendees in stitches.

On the heels of the keynote, the meeting will provide attendees with a wide range of timely management and technical update sessions, all taught by some of the CSSD profession’s most respected experts.

In 2011, interactive sessions will become more plentiful, allowing attendees to actively participate in the sessions, and serving as a catalyst for improved compliance and positive change within the CSSD. An AAMI Standards Review session, for example, will cover key points of AAMI standards that impact the CSSD and will provide attendees with a checklist to determine whether their department meets or does not meet certain portions of the standards (i.e., topics related to decontamination, preparation and sterilization; sterile storage, and housekeeping procedures, among others). The checklist will also include a "Comments" portion so attendees can make notes and follow up on key aspects of the standards when they return to their departments. Other sessions will also directly engage attendees, beginning with Early Bird Discussion sessions, which promote effective communication and dialog exchange amongst those participating in myriad management and technical update topics.

A general session on sterilization efficacy will provide yet another interactive learning experience, with attendees using a remote control answer key pad to enter their responses to clinical and technical questions. The responses, which will be instantly viewed via a computer Power Point presentation, will then be reviewed and discussed by an expert panel. The session will feature "hot off the presses" recommended practices and expectations for sterilization efficacy, so attendees will walk away with the most current knowledge of CSSD-related standards.

The vendor exhibits will be more interactive than ever before, as well. For the first time ever, the exhibits will house vendor vans to further enhance the hands-on and visual educational experience. Also, for the second year, Vendor Learning Annexes will bring together vendor experts and attendees in a private, enclosed space on the exhibit floor for 20- to 30-minute educational or product/service demonstrations. These sessions will be hosted at numerous time slots to allow for greater attendee participation. Poster presentations, which debuted at the 2010 Annual Meeting in San Diego, will be on display in the exhibit hall in Louisville, affording a unique opportunity for IAHCSMM members and meeting attendees to share their success stories, study data and process improvements.