Twas the (Real) Night Before Surgery: An Ode to Christmas in Sterile Processing

“Twas the night before surgery, when all through decon,

Not a case cart was waiting, all the surgeons were gone;

The scopes were all hung in their cabinets with care,

In hopes that surveyors might smile on them there;

The trays were nestled all snug on the shelves;

Put there by third shift, the SPD elves;

Jill in her scrub hat, and I in my cover,

Had just settled down for a break room recover,

When out on the floor there arose such a clatter,

We sprang from our chairs to see what was the matter.

Away back to decon I flew like a flash,

Threw open the door and knocked over the trash.

The glare of fluorescence looked like new-fallen snow,

And gave a stainless-reflection on the objects below,

When what to my wondering eyes did appear,

But a full set of loaners with a case time so near,

With a little old sales rep so lively and quick,

I knew in a moment he must be Rep. Nick.

More rapid than eagles his excuses they came, 

And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name:

“Now, Late Booking! now, Last Minute! now No Trays and We Tried! On, Courier Forgot! on, No One Told Me The Time!”

To the edge of the sink! to the top of the washer!

Now wash away! wash away! wash away faster!

As chaff that before a wild hurricane fly,

We heard all the reasons for his late delivery ‘cept why;

Out of the department the sales rep he flew

With all of these trays, old Rep. Nick he knew—

There wasn’t a twinkling, an inkling of chance

That we’d have these sets ready for the case in advance.

As I drew in my head, and was turning around,

Now on the clean side Rep. Nick came with a bound.

He was dressed all in scrubs, from his neck to his feet,

But his scrubs were stamped with the hospital name down the street;

Another bundle of trays he had there in his hands,

With stacks of new implants wrapped in rubber bands.

His eyes—how they twinkled! his dimples, how merry!

His cheeks were like roses, his red bouffant like a cherry!

His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,

And his beard cover was as white as the snow;

The stick of some Trident he held tight in his teeth,

And the smell of peppermint encircled his head like a wreath;

He had a broad face and a little round belly

That shook when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly.

He was chubby and plump, a jolly old sales rep,

But I watched him to ensure he did not skip a step.

A wink of his eye and a twist of his head

Soon tried to tell me I had nothing to dread;

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,

And filled all the Synthes; then turned with a jerk,

And laying his finger aside of his nose,

Gave us a nod, as out the department he goes;

He glanced at his cell phone, and then threw back a “Thanks,”

As he hurried home for the holidays leaving us in the tank.

But I heard him exclaim, ere he walked out of sight—

“Merry Christmas you guys, and have a great night!”

Written by Hank Balch © 2022.

To all those working hard this holiday season, we see you! Thanks for what you do today, and every day.

Love, the Beyond Clean team!

Why Not Work When You Want? How to Totally Change the Way We Schedule Sterile Processing Technicians

In this episode of Articles On-The-Go, Hank Balch considers a flexible scheduling model for SPD:  — “What if I were to tell you there is a better way—and that there are existing technologies in use in other industries that could completely change the way we envision a sterile processing department schedule? Well, there is and there are. Combined with email and mobile applications, and using your own surgery volume data, these types of technologies could put an end to staffing frustration and replace it with productive flexibility across every shift.”

#sterileprocessing #wefightdirty

Cleaning Chemistries: How Important Is It In Supporting Your Manual Cleaning Process? | Expert Series On-The-Go

On this week’s edition of the Beyond Clean Expert Series On-The-Go, tune in for the conversation entitled, “Cleaning Chemistries: How Important Is It In Supporting Your Manual Cleaning Process?.” To hear more from this expert, follow us on Facebook and Linkedin, or subscribe to the Beyond Clean mailing list by visiting: https://educate.beyondclean.net/cleanfreaks or text BEYONDCLEAN to 22828

Do you know a #SterileProcessing expert who you’d love to hear from on our series? Or do you have a question for one of our current experts? Contact us at any time via email at: info@beyondclean.net

Until next time, keep fighting dirty!

#SterileProcessing #BeyondClean #ExpertSeries #Podcast

The Only Way: Enhanced Visual Inspection with the New FIS-007 Inspection Borescope

There is only one way to inspect internal channels of medical devices in Sterile Processing. On this Beyond Clean Vendor Spotlight we talk with Kevin Anderson, Clinical Education Specialist at Healthmark Industries, about the newly released FIS-007 Inspection Borescope designed to inspect channels as small as 1.1mm diameter with interchangeable sizes to meet the specific needs of your department. With a compact design, easy setup, and the option to save photos and videos of your medical devices, your staff can move medical devices confidently to the next stage in reprocessing. Tune in now to learn more! 

Visit www.hmark.com for more information or call 1-800-521-6224. Healthmark provides free consultations for enhanced inspection, endoscope reprocessing, Joint Commission preparation, and more.  Follow Healthmark Industries on Linkedin, Facebook, and YouTube. 

#VendorSpotlight #Healthmark #SterileProcessing #Inspection #Borescope #EnhancedVisualization #Reprocessing #Safety #BeyondClean #WeFightDirty #SPD #CS #MDR #SPS #Surgery #ASHRAE

Spotlight on Special Treatment in Sterile Processing: What It Is and What It’s Not

In this episode of Articles On-The-Go, Hank Balch examines the difference between “special treatment” and “different treatment”  — “There is a common assumption in the industry that every member of the sterile processing team must be dealt with in the exact same way or else it’s not fair. While equal treatment is good when it comes to things like approving PTO requests and holding staff accountable to department policies, it can be counterproductive in a number of other important scenarios.”

#sterileprocessing #wefightdirty

Germicidal Detergents in Sterile Processing | Expert Series On-The-Go

On this week’s edition of the Beyond Clean Expert Series On-The-Go, tune in for the conversation entitled, “Germicidal Detergents in Sterile Processing.” To hear more from this expert, follow us on Facebook and Linkedin, or subscribe to the Beyond Clean mailing list by visiting: https://educate.beyondclean.net/cleanfreaks or text BEYONDCLEAN to 22828

Do you know a #SterileProcessing expert who you’d love to hear from on our series? Or do you have a question for one of our current experts? Contact us at any time via email at: info@beyondclean.net

Until next time, keep fighting dirty!

#SterileProcessing #BeyondClean #ExpertSeries #Podcast