Healthcare Purchasing News
July 2012
by Julie E. Williamson
It’s no secret: while sterile processing departments play a critical role int he delivery of quality patient care and customer service, they’re not exactly viewed as revenue-generators of the healthcare facility. But don’t tell that to the growing number of hospitals that are setting their sights on organization-wide sustainability initiatives – and definitely don’t tell that to t the sterile processing professionals who are seeing their own departmental efforts score big savings (and, in some cases, even substantial extra income) for the facility.
“There are terrific opportunities for SPDs to have a very real and positive impact on the environment, the hospital and the community – and many SPDs are doing just that,” confirmed Cecilia DeLoach Lynn, MBA, LEED AP, director of facility engagement and metrics, Practice Greenhealth, Reston, VA.
…Gundersen Lutheran engages heavily in reprocessing of single-use devices; any SUDs that have been determined by the FDA to be safely reprocessed are collected and sent to the reprocessing center. The OR simply collects the items in a bin – including opened, but unused devices – and the reprocessing center takes it from there…
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To learn more about the benefits of reprocessing single-use medical devices, please visit AMDR on the web or send an email to info@amdr.org.