With tight operating margins, leadership wants to know that the investments they make will be worthwhile before signing an agreement. For the sterile processing department, it can sometimes be challenging to convey the domino effect on the department and the impact that capital purchases have on the rest of the facility. One capital item in the SPD is sterile storage.

In this session, we will look at areas for improvement when it comes to sterile storage, information needed to make a business case, champions for capital purchases, and tips to present the information so that you receive a “Yes!” from leadership. As we walk through this example, we will try to answer the question, “Is it worth it?” No SPD leader or administrator would say that they are against efficiency and quality improvements, they are just weighing whether the benefit of implementing the solution outweighs the cost of the product.

Learning Objectives:

1. Identify how efficient sterile storage processes positively impact healthcare finances, performance and team culture.
2. Define key concepts related to capital budgeting.
3. Provide practical strategies for successfully building a business case for efficiency improvements in Sterile Processing.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER:

Marie Brewer, CHL, CST, CRCST, CIS, GTS, CSSBB is a sterile processing expert with 20 years’ experience in sterile processing and perioperative settings. She’s the Regional Sterile Processing Manager at UnityPoint Health – St. Luke’s Hospital. Ms. Brewer has served as President of the HSPA Central Service Association of Iowa and in several national HSPA roles. She is a voting member on AAMI ST79 and a subject-matter expert on sterilization/sterile packaging; disinfection practices; and device processing. She is a columnist for HSPA’s PROCESS Magazine specializing in advanced leadership concepts in sterile processing. Her work has been published in AJIC.