The Sterile Processing Services (SPS) department at the Manchester VA Medical Center, NH, is an important part of an organization of people dedicated to the mission of honoring America’s Veterans. We are No. 1 in patient safety and, as a sterile processing department of dedicated individuals, we take that responsibility very seriously.
The mission of SPS is to provide the highest standards of practice for processing critical and semi-critical reusable medical equipment (RME) with a focus on patient care, infection control, and quality assurance. Our SPS supports the medical facility by ensuring a continuous flow of quality, reprocessed critical and semi-critical RME to using services.
We are a small team of dedicated professionals and every member of this team has a voice. As the lead technician, I still consider myself to be among equals, and each team member is part of every decision that is made in our department.
Integrity: doing the right thing when nobody is looking
Integrity is important to what we do. Our number one goal is to make certain that every item that leaves our department has been processed in the best possible manner by following the manufacturer’s instructions for use (IFU) and using best practices. That is why we strictly adhere to manufacturer IFUs. There are no short cuts and we do not look for ways to make our job easier by bending the rules. Reprocessing RME in the best way possible is what we are all about, which means keeping current with best practices and upgrading our processes to achieve that goal.
We believe that by achieving excellence in what we do we assure that the veterans who entrust their care to our facility will be safe from any hospital-acquired infection. We have a strong quality assurance program to ensure the right product is delivered in the right condition, to the right place, at the right time and ready for use. We want to make certain that every veteran that visits our medical center leaves this facility as healthy as or healthier than when he or she arrived.
It is important to note that this dedication to excellence is not unique to our small medical center — it starts right at the top. Every VA sterile processing department in this country is dedicated to providing properly processed RME to every veteran who needs medical intervention. We adhere to a strict set of rules that often exceed AAMI and AORN recommendations. As a veteran working for veterans, I am proud of what we do every day at the VA.
Building relationships, sharing knowledge
We have an excellent working relationship with all the clinics that we service. I know the staff as well as the managers of each clinic and visit them regularly. My department has a particularly dynamic relationship with the same-day surgery staff.
Because they are a growing department it is imperative that we provide them with the tools they need to do their job. As they bring in new doctors and add procedures to their schedule, we need to be able to adapt. As a small, experienced team we are able to provide the support that the operating room needs.
To share what we do with the clinics that we support and educate the medical center staff about what RME is, we held an open house during International CS week. More than 80 people showed up to learn a little about sterile processing — and more than 60 of those staff members got dressed in PPE and went behind the locked doors of our SPS department to get an in-depth view of how we decontaminate, clean, package and sterilize all the instruments used in our medical center every day.
Appreciation and respect for SPS
Everyone was impressed by how much work we do on a daily basis. They were amazed by the strict rules that we follow and the volume of work that we accomplish each and every day. From how many steps it takes to clean an endoscope to how massive our sterilizers are, people were impressed.
Our open house was not only an opportunity for medical center staff to appreciate what we do here in SPS but it was also an opportunity for the SPS staff to feel appreciated. Everyone enjoyed having the opportunity to “show off” their skills and what they know. Sometimes you forget just how important your job is and just how much you really know. By demonstrating our skills for people who have never been exposed to sterile processing and seeing how impressed they were with the process, it gave us a sense of pride in ourselves and our department.
I started out by saying that we are an important part of an organization of people dedicated to the mission of honoring America’s veterans. We do that every day by doing the best job that we can do. Going to the IAHCSMM conference provides us with the opportunity to stay current and make certain that we are doing everything that we can to provide the veterans that entrust their care to the Manchester VAMC the best possible experience.
