IUSS and given central sterile some much-needed breathing room on
turnaround.
We also invested in a sealed-container system that has the same fil-
tered-vent design of standard rigid containers. It's FDA-cleared to ster-
ilize a 25-pound load in an autoclave at 270º F in just 4 minutes.
Because of the container's design and special seal, it's not considered
IUSS, so it's ideal for reprocessing devices to accommodate unexpect-
ed demand.
These options have helped to ease the burden on central sterile pro-
cessing, but they have also provided consistency in care for our
patients. The investment in instrumentation wasn't as significant as
some had feared. I look at it as a one-time cost of investing in quality
instrumentation versus the ongoing cost of overtaxing central sterile
processing.
J U L Y 2 0 1 7 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y. N E T • 1 2 5
ally and be conscientious about treating this task with the impor-
tance it deserves. "You're not going to find that for $8 an hour,"
says Ms. Chobin.
• Plan for worst-case scenarios. If you're high-level disinfect-
ing colonoscopes and your reprocessor goes down, you can still
disinfect them manually. But what happens if your sole low-tem-
perature sterilizer conks out? A second system will let you con-
tinue sterilizing scopes without a hiccup, and without compromis-
ing safety.
"If you don't have a backup, you need to have policies and pro-
cedures in place to plan for every eventuality," Ms. Chobin says.
Example: having an agreement with another facility to send
scopes over for sterilization. "Never have just one of anything in
your processing area," she adds. "The minute something goes
down, you have to change protocol — and that's when you get
into trouble." — Bill Donahue
