Three best practices you can implement right now

The federal government has penalized 774 hospitals for having the highest rates of patient infections or other potentially avoidable medical complications. The patient safety penalties cost hospitals 1 percent of Medicare payments over the federal fiscal year (Oct to Sept). These penalties come under the Hospital-Acquired Condition Reduction Program, a program that attracts criticism from some hospital leaders.

Whatever your thoughts on the program, setting improvement goals is a big part of driving change. Measuring where you are, setting a goal, and making a step-by-step plan for how to achieve it can help you take control of—and improve—any situation you face.

Infection prevention

On any given day, one in every 31 hospital patients has an infection that was contracted during their stay. Infections and other complications can prolong hospital stays, complicate treatments and, in the worst instances, kill patients.

Although sterile processing personnel may never see these patients, we know they’re always on your mind. Infection prevention depends upon maintaining consistently high standards of practice, requiring you to perform each task as intended each time, which drives predictable results. How does your facility measure up on these best practices?

1. 1. Consistent, effective pretreatment at point-of-use – When instruments arrive in your department, are they jumbled and covered in blood and other soil? Or are they rinsed clean with an effective pretreatment applied? Work with your perioperative teams to select an effective pretreatment that makes decontamination faster and easier. Measure how much time you can shave off your decontamination process with a U.S. EPA Safer Choice labelled pretreatment that starts cleaning for you.
      
   2. Rigid containers for loaner sets – Loaner sets can take an outsized amount of staff time and cause real disruption when holes are discovered in sterilization wrap. Facilities often process two full loaner sets to have backup for that inevitable moment. Now you can avoid doing double work and save reprocessing time and money!
      
      Transition to SteriTite® rigid containers, especially for those bulky Ortho/Spine sets, and you don’t have to worry about OR delays. Shift just a small portion of your wrap budget to begin building a stable of rigid containers for loaners—so you can drop-in and go, eliminating both wrapping time and delays due to holes in wrapped sets. After all, Case Medical manufactures the world’s only universal sealed container designed for loaners and made in the USA.
      
      
      
   3. Clear, permanent biohazard indicators for case carts – OSHA and AAMI call for soiled instruments to be clearly labeled as biohazard when transported from a surgical or procedure location to decontamination. Stop fussing with the waste and unreliability of paper signs attached to case carts or in plastic pockets.
      
      SteriTite® Disposition Monitors are long-lasting, reusable monitors that easily mount on the outside of any case cart to show healthcare staff whether the contents inside are soiled or clean and ready to go to the next procedure room. Compliance is a matter of staff safety and required by law; disposition monitors can help you achieve 100% compliance. Now available with an easy to assemble mounting plate for open case carts (upon request).
      

Where will you start?

There is no time like the present to set goals for better sterile processing performance and optimal patient outcomes. What are your goals for this quarter or this year? We can help with validated products, and services such as assessments, evaluations, education, and help with data analytics to meet quality metrics. We can help you, too. Contact us today at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 

Register now for our next webinar “Maintenance for Optimal Operating Efficiency” March 4 at 11am EST. Learn how to transition to a paperless maintenance plan for continuous improvement and accountability.

Sterilization containers can help you maintain timely service to the OR

Managing chaos versus and preventing chaos—which would you rather do? You can’t always foresee or prevent disruption; however, if you do see trouble coming, making moves to proactively manage the situation is SMART and can prevent headaches.

Read on to discover a few ways that reusable SteriTite® sterilization containers can keep your department on schedule and bring efficiencies beyond those possible with other containers (and certainly with wrap).

Reduce dependence on wrap

If you’re at one of the facilities dealing with wrap orders filled at 80% allocation, you know that running just 80% of surgeries IS NOT an option. The most straightforward insurance policy against wrap shortfalls is a selection of rigid reusable containers. Keep some in inventory for your most frequently used sets or keep some on hand for loaner drop ins.

Remember, SteriTite containers are universal, thus you can use the same container for steam or low temperature sterilization. Want to speed up the process? Use our paper filters in our perforated bottom container and save up to 20 minutes of dry time. Consider our customization options for processing complex sets. When there’s a place designated for each instrument, it’s easy to identify whether the set is complete.

You can start by transitioning just one service line from sterilization wrap to containers. Or perhaps begin with one supportive surgeon who will collaborate with the sterile processing team to optimize sets, paring down to just the essential instruments. There are many different approaches that will reduce your dependence on wrap and increase efficiency in your department. Even allocating just 10-25% of your monthly wrap budget to container purchases can make a huge difference and will quickly provide a return on investment.

Simplify loaners and turnarounds

Some of the most challenging and wrap-intensive sets are those that walk through your front door 48 hours before a surgery—loaner sets. In particular, heavy ortho/spine sets use the largest volume of wrap and often include a complete set of duplicates, a wasteful but necessary process when using wrap, to avoid reprocessing in case of tears.

Any sets that are turned frequently can be good candidates for containerization. The benefit is twofold: save time in prep and pack and save money by eliminating the cost of wrap, indicator tape, corner protectors, and any other accessories. FYI—a frequently turned set will give you the quickest returns.

Cut down on dry time

SteriTite containers, when used with our paper filters in steam sterilization cycles, have FDA 510(k) clearance for minimum 5- to 8-minute dry times. No other container system can deliver such efficient dry times! Specifics are indicated below.

“SteriTite® containers…may be used for storage and transport after steam sterilization with a reduced dry time. Dry loads will be achieved using a minimum of 5 minutes dry time when using perforated bottom units and a minimum of 8 minutes dry time when using solid bottom units.”

All with an improved environmental footprint

If your facility measures sustainability initiatives, you’ll want to share this information. According to one source, the healthcare industry discards 255 million pounds of blue wrap each year. Switching to containers helps your facility reduce waste. Over a 10-15 year container life span, that really adds up. Choosing paper filters for steam cycles helps minimize dry times and reserves polypropylene filters for low temperature cycles, when polypropylene is in demand for wrap and PPE. Importantly, paper filters are sustainable.

If you’d like to prevent further disruption in your department, and reduce your dependence on sterilization wrap, contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and break free. Inquire about our filter, seal, and load card special for increased savings via an automated delivery plan.

SteriTite containers can relieve the pressure of the wrap shortage

The current sterilization wrap supply shortage is concerning for many health systems and facilities. Originally designed in the 1990s as an alternative to wrapped trays, SteriTite® containers are now, in 2021, very much a part of the solution. After a significant drop in non-emergent surgeries throughout 2020, the backlog of demand is expected to push 2021 surgical volume up by 28% compared to 2019 pre-pandemic levels. This is no time for disruptions to the surgical schedule.

Fortunately, there are ways to strategically address this supply chain disruption while keeping the OR happy and productive. Check out these opportunities to containerize your highest priority instruments sets.

Where to start: Loaners

Some of the most challenging and wrap-intensive sets are those that walk through your front door 48 hours before a surgery—loaner sets. In particular, heavy ortho/spine sets use the largest volume of wrap and duplicate wrapped sets are common, as extra insurance against tears in wrap and surgical disruption. With more than half of instruments unused, just as a baseline, loaners are a perfect target to begin converting from wrap to rigid containers.

SteriTite® containers are DIN sized and originally designed for loaners sets. Our product specialists have decades of experience solving problems by helping you select the right assortment of containers for loaners and other procedure trays. With lost-lasting, quality construction, rivetless case assembly, and offset filter retention plates to prevent strikethrough and cross contamination, SteriTite containers can eliminate the double work of processing two wrapped sets of loaner instruments and even provide quicker turns.

Convert high-turn sets

You know just the sets, the ones that, as soon as they enter decontam, are fast-tracked to make sure they’re ready for the next surgery. Convert those sets to containers to eliminate wrapping, save time, and make sure these critical instruments are protected and secured. In fact, SteriTite containers, when used with our paper filters in steam sterilization cycles, are cleared for minimum 5 to 8 minute dry times. It’s true! Here are the details.

Reduced Dry Time Claim for Pre-Vacuum Steam Sterilization:
SteriTite® containers previously cleared for terminal and IUSS (flash) steam sterilization may be used for storage and transport after steam sterilization with a reduced dry time. Dry loads will be achieved using a minimum of 5 minutes dry time when using perforated bottom units and a minimum of 8 minutes dry time when using solid bottom units.

Insurance policy

In the spirit of being prepared, there is one more tip that you might find valuable. Did you know that we offer filter-less valves for steam sterilization cycles? FlashTite® Valve Plates are designed as an alternative option to the SteriTite filter assembly for IUSS steam sterilization. It’s smart and convenient to keep these on hand for those emergencies where IUSS is appropriate and wrap even less available.

We certainly hope that the wrap shortage is resolved soon without further disruption. We also hope that we’ve piqued your interest about the benefits of taking a staged approach to converting your surgical instrument sets to rigid reusable containers. I won’t even go into the potential cost savings, the positive environmental effects, or the many other benefits, though you can read more if you like. Think about the security of having fewer items on your list of concerns each day. And say goodbye to the monkey and its wrench.

Contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to get started.