Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/824946
43 Executive Briefing Halyard Health (NYSE: HYH) is a medical technology company focused on eliminating pain, speeding recovery and preventing infection for healthcare providers and their patients. Headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia, Halyard is committed to addressing some of today's most important healthcare needs, such as reducing the use of opioids while helping patients move from surgery to recovery and preventing healthcare-associated infections. Halyard's business segments - Medical Devices and Surgical and Infection Prevention (S&IP) - develop, manufacture and market clinically superior solutions that improve medical outcomes and business performance in more than 100 countries. For more information, visit www.halyardhealth.com. [with clear calls-to-action] to help users in the field get some direction, [because] once they saw these results, their response was going to be, 'Oh my, now what do I do?'" The group developed the following three recommendations: Enforce proper maintenance and handling of sterile pack- aging systems. Because the study showed rigid containers can put instruments at risk for bacterial contamination, it is critically important for sterile processing departments and central sup- ply professionals to do two things: Follow manufacturers' in- structions for use and undergo training on how to test the trays to identify defects, according to the statement. Sterile processing departments and central supply profession- als should test rigid containers to ensure they are safe, especial- ly if the containers are older and have been in use for a long pe- riod of time. Initial efficacy tests are fairly simple, according to Ms. Luebbert. One involves placing a dollar bill over the edge of the container and sealing the tray. If the dollar bill can move, the seal is not sufficient. "SPD staff love that one, it's fun to do and effectively indicates a potential risk," she says. Another test involves placing liquid in the tray, sealing it and tipping the container. If the fluid is maintained, the container has an effective seal; if it drips out, it failed the test. Foster cross-department collaboration. "Communication is often limited between SPDs and infection preventionists, and … the vast majority of infection preventionists do not incorporate SPS [sterile packaging systems] into their risk assessments," according to the consensus statement. "This study demonstrates the importance of collaboration be- tween SPDs and infection preventionists in improving pa- tient safety and reducing risk for SSIs." Ms. Luebbert says, "We're wasting our time in trying to prevent infections if SPD is not involved. It starts there with clean, ster- ile instrumentation. When it enters the suite it needs to still be sterile." In other words, teamwork is necessary to keep containers ster- ile and patients safe, and hospital leaders need to foster col- laboration among the sterile processing department, infection preventionists, quality department leadership, CNOs and nurs- es, and surgeons regarding best practices for maintaining and handling sterile packaging systems. To do so, leaders can add a representative from the sterile pro- cessing department to quality committees that address infec- tion prevention policies and concerns. "Bringing them to the committee meetings helps the rest of the hospital understand the intricacy of their department and how important it is," Ms. Luebbert says. "The overall goal is that they are recognized as part of the healthcare team." Additionally, operating room staff should be trained on prop- er handling of sterile packaging systems and how to identify problems with surgical tool storage. They can act as a powerful second line of defense against dirty surgical instruments. Advocate for increasing the rigor of sterile packaging systems protocols and guidelines. The consensus state- ment authors recommended bodies like the Food and Drug Administration, the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation and the Joint Commission to "strongly consider requiring dynamic aerosol tests to be performed on all SPS on two separate occasions between the time of sterilization until use in the OR." They included that recommendation because the study in the American Journal of Infection Control showed "achieving sterility at the time of sterilization is not a predictor of continued steril- ity after transport and handling, until use in the OR." Additional Step Along with the aforementioned recommendations from the consensus statement, hospital leaders can also require certi- fication for sterile processing department workers — which is something that not all states require. Ms. Luebbert maintains that hospital officials should voluntarily make it a requirement. "It's important for administration to motivate staff to become certified," she says. She recommends adding as part of the job description that the employee will become certified within a certain time period of being hired, and then supporting them throughout the process. Hospitals can also provide some perks — like a pay bump or an adjusted title — in recognition of certi- fication. Hospitals should also take the December 2015 American Jour- nal of Infection Control study into consideration when making purchasing decisions, as sterilization wrap was found to be more successful in maintaining sterility of surgical instruments. All of these steps and considerations help hospitals work toward one goal, according to Ms. Luebbert. "It comes down to keeping clean, clean, no matter where you're at or what you're doing," she says. "If you can keep clean, clean, your job is done." n Achieving sterility at the time of sterilization is not a predictor of continued sterility after transport and handling, until use in the OR.