within the hour to prevent major
disruptions to your workflow may
be worth paying more for than
opting for a lower upfront invest-
ment from a vendor that could
take several hours or more to
respond. Also, look to purchase in
bulk whenever possible. We need-
ed a low-temperature sterilizer
that costs around $130,000 per
unit, but since we opted to get 4 in
one shot with the purchase contract for our new space, we wound up
paying only around $80,000 for each.
4. Ergonomics and efficiencies
While you're setting up or overhauling your SPD, keep worker safety
front and center at all times. One critical focus should be on ergonom-
ic — or adjustable height — decontamination workstations. At a mini-
mum, you need workstations that can move up and down to accom-
modate the height of your staff. Tall members of your team who have
to hunch over low sinks will wind up with repetitive strain injuries.
You also want to pay close attention to sink depth and sink width
when designing the SPD. A sink that's 30 inches long, 17 inches wide
and 10 inches deep should fit any type of tray encountered in deconta-
mination.
Of course, efficiency is also key, so you'll want to consider pieces of
equipment that help staff reprocess more instruments more quickly.
Some examples: Ultrasonic washers convert electric energy into high-
intensity sound waves commonly traveling at frequencies between 20
kHz and 120 kHz. This technology is touted as an ideal way to remove
3 8 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0
• FOOT TRAFFIC Limit the distance members of your repro-
cessing team have to cover when moving heavy instrument trays.
