• University of Chicago Hospitals brought in an Interim Leadership to serve as Director of SPD, while also aiding in the hiring and mentoring of a new Director and three supervisors for the main SPD, and two supervisors of the Ambulatory SPD. By assisting the organization in hiring and mentoring, significant cost savings were realized by avoiding costly agency staffing and by reducing the time to full productivity for the new hires.

• At Geisinger Medical Center, staff was mentored in roles and responsibilities, time management, staff scheduling and management skills which resulted in improved workflow efficiencies.

• Stanford University Medical Center sought Interim Management for the Manager, Assistant Manager and Supervisors in both Main and Ambulatory Care SPD, and help in the hiring and mentoring of Supervisors for both areas. By selecting quality Management, and aiding them in establishing policies and procedures, greater operational efficiency was achieved.

• Ongoing education and mentoring at all three organizations have resulted in a shortened cycle for new hires to become fully productive within the SPD.
• Increased throughput was recognized at Geisinger, with instrument turnaround time recognizing a 54% increase in efficiency

• With better tray accuracy, room turnover time was improved at all three organizations.

• Staff retention rates improved, leading to reduced cost for overtime, agency support and the training of new hires

Business Intelligence
Business Intelligence is defined as the stage where executives and key process owners have a clearly defined vision of decision-making information requirements and easy access to the information through such items as Executive Dashboards and Advanced Reporting. For Executives, access to real time information results in process improvements, accurate reimbursement, informed decision making and greater regulatory compliance.

• Working with Geisinger executive leadership, an OR/SPD Performance Improvement Dashboard was developed. Along with the implementation of a departmental Performance Improvement program, as well as the establishment of daily OR rounds, weekly SPD/OR meetings, and weekly Q&A sessions, business intelligence monitoring improved by 25%

• Stanford also implemented the ISH Dashboard, providing vital information that expedited decision-making processes for SPD/OR.

• At University of Chicago Hospitals an OR/SPD Performance Improvement Tool was developed. Coupled with daily rounds to record all problems on every case, the SPD Management Team met with the OR Management team to review results and to develop and update their action plan leading to better quality of service.

Risk Management
Patient safety is a vital concern to healthcare organizations. No hospital wishes to have a sentinel event, or have to report negative statistics. SPD is a key area for the prevention of hospital-acquired infections (HAI), and must adhere to strict regulatory compliance to prevent risk to patients. By implementing a comprehensive education and mentoring program, SPD will not only meet standards, but also be ready for unannounced inspections thereby avoiding costly fines and censures.

Stanford University, University of Chicago and Geisinger Medical Center all implemented an Education and Certification program. This included a proprietary Instrument Recognition Course, which provided the Sterile Processing Technicians with a solid knowledge base of commonly used instruments. As a result of these programs:

• All three organizations established an SPD Educator position. According to Courtney Gorgone, Director of SPD at Geisinger, “JCAHO were so impressed with CS, they said they have not found a department with better processes and were absolutely in LOVE with the fact that we have an educator!”

• Geisinger added a 3-month comprehensive Orientation outline. University of Chicago added an Orientation plan as part of their new Policy and Procedure Manual. Subsequently, the number of errors and dirty instruments were reduced as were the number of trays missing instruments

• Stanford mandated that all employees must be CRCST. ISH taught several CRCST courses and continues to orient new employees, lead in-services, complete competencies and monitor re-certification points.

• At the University of Chicago, the number of tray errors was reduced to 2% and the bioburden reduced to 0%.

Customer Satisfaction
Although Risk Management, Cost Management and Business Intelligence are vital in a sound business plan for SPD, Customer Satisfaction cannot be overlooked. Patient and Physician Satisfaction lead directly to increased revenue. Employee satisfaction leads to low turnover rates and avoidance of high cost agency fees and training costs for replacement staff.

• With the implementation of education programs and sound mentoring, Stanford achieved higher scores on a Gallop Employee Satisfaction survey.

• At Geisinger, there was a 64% increase in customer satisfaction

• Retention rate at all three facilities improved

• Physician and clinician satisfaction with tray accuracy improved for all three organizations

• Staff morale greatly improved at University of Chicago

As D. Allan Gray, Vice President of Perioperative Services at the University of Chicago Hospitals has stated about Education and Mentoring, “As a result, our tray accuracy has vastly improved, and our rates of contamination are negligible. Surgeon satisfaction, which had been very low, has substantially improved.”

What type of Education and Certification programs for SPD yield the greatest results?
It is vital that the instructors are certified by the two major certifying bodies: IAHCSMM and the CBSPD. They should have a clear understanding of both the future state vision of the organization, and of the existing operational model. Instructors should possess deep operational knowledge of SPD and its relationship to the OR, as well as technical knowledge of both equipment and IT solutions.

Hands-on training and on-site training support all types of learners: visual, auditory and kinesthetic. Working side-by-side with certified and experienced instructors in an environment that is not exclusively didactic as in online and manual approaches leads to a more efficient, cost-effective learning environment. Feedback is immediate, and praise from a live instructor is the type of reinforcement that keeps staff motivated. As Candace Reed, Director of Sterile Processing at Stanford University Medical Center stated, “The Central Sterile Certification Course along with the Instrument Recognition Course has allowed us to cross train staff, provide our customer with competent staff, and improve instrument tray assembly, accuracy and quality.”

The intrinsic value of educating and mentoring staff in the SPD is far greater than satisfying a mandate or complying with regulations. Clearly there is business value to be recognized in the areas of Cost Management, Business Intelligence, Customer Satisfaction and Risk Management. Executive leadership at Stanford University Medical Center, University of Chicago Hospitals and Geisinger Medical Center have realized true return on investment through implementing an Education and Certification initiative provided by ISH, Inc. in the Sterile Processing departments of their organizations.

Further Information
For additional information on the successful case studies shown in this report or for information on assistance and guidance with other operational challenges in healthcare, please contact:

Mary Garland
ISH, Inc.
mgarland@ishinc.com
800-284-8018, ext. 336
www.ishinc.com

Copyright 2007
ISH, Inc.
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