O
ur sterile processing department handles more than
150,000 instrument trays and 80,000 single-pack items a
year. That's a lot of devices to clean, disinfect and sterilize
— and a lot of chances for things to go wrong. Here's how
we ensure that we properly sterilize every instrument.
It starts with decontamination
It's the oft-repeated mantra of sterile processing because it's true: Dirty
instruments can't be sterilized. Proper decontamination begins in the OR
when techs pre-treat instruments in an enzymatic solution to keep them
F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 6 • O U T PA T I E N TS U R G E R Y. N E T • 8 3
SQUEAKYCLEAN
SURGICALINSTRUMENTS
Pearls and pointers from a sterile processing depart-
ment that disinfects tens of thousands of trays a year.
Mark Voigt | St. Cloud, Minn.
• ON THE MOVE Author Mark Voigt delivers sterilized instrument sets to the expansive storage area in St. Cloud Hospital.
St.
Cloud
Hospital
