1 0 2 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • J U L Y 2 0 1 9
D
irty instruments, broken instruments, missing instru-
ments. In an ideal world, we'd never have to worry
about the sterile processing department (SPD) caus-
ing problems that would inconvenience the OR or,
worse, injure or infect a patient. We know, of course,
that's not always the case.
One instrument adverse event is one too many, but we once experi-
Judith D. Montello, BSHCA, RN, CNOR | New Orleans, La.
Rebooting Our Reprocessing Department
A comprehensive rethink of decontamination and sterilization
helped this facility cut SPD-related patient safety events by more than 90%.
• TOTAL TEAM EFFORT Successful sterile processing
is a joint undertaking between SDP and OR staff.