HOSPITAL SURGICAL INSTRUMENT “EVERY LOAD MONITORING” GAINS ACCEPTANCE IN FIGHT AGAINST INFECTION

Sunbury Community Hospital’s Central Supply Department is taking sterilization assurance to the highest level. Working to ensure the highest possible level of sterilization assurance for instruments, implantable devices and other surgical supplies that come in contact with patients’ bodies is one of the best ways the Central Supply Department can do their part in making patient safety the top priority at Sunbury Community Hospital.

The Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI), a multidiscipline organization that provides the guidelines and rules for sterilization monitoring in healthcare facilities, explains that the surest and most realistic measurement of sterilization cycle lethality is by using a biological indicator (BI) within a load of surgical instruments.  The most recent AAMI guidelines only call for the use of Biological Indicators under certain situations such as monitoring sterilization loads that contain implantable devices or for sterilizer qualification testing, however, the Central Supply Team at Sunbury Community Hospital has taken this process to a higher level in order to provide for patient safety by moving to an Every-Load Monitoring (E.L.M.) policy with a biological indicator. Every-load monitoring takes “standard practice” to “Best Practice” and aggressively pursues the highest standard of care for every patient.

Best practice sterilization monitoring helps minimize the risk that a non-sterile device will be used during a surgical procedure, minimize the likelihood that a non-sterile device contributed to a healthcare-acquired infection and reduces the incidence and cost of surgical infections.

Monitoring the sterilization of instruments by utilizing the E.L.M. process with a biological indicator gives those who are charged with ensuring the sterility of medical instruments and devices one more way to make an important contribution to the fight to help reduce Hospital Associated Infections and to help preserve and improve the hospitals’ reputation as a place of healing.

Chartered in 1895, Sunbury Community Hospital and Outpatient Center is an acute care facility serving Sunbury, Selinsgrove, Northumberland and the surrounding communities. With a strong emphasis on community, the hospital is committed to the health and well-being of those in the region.