Viktoria “Tori” Ruiz

Viktoria "Tori" Ruiz Biography

What value would you bring to the ongoing efforts of HSPA as a Board member of the organization?

As a member of the Board, I bring 20-plus years of diverse Sterile Processing experience in clinics, hospitals and surgery centers. I am also a veteran of the Air Force. I would like to use my diverse experience to build more connections to the SPD community in areas such as the VA, ambulatory surgery centers, and clinics. With my background and HSPA’s partnerships, we can build educational offerings, expand certification adoption, increase membership, and build opportunities for all parts of our community to connect, ensuring the highest standard of care wherever sterile processing is performed. I commit to continue to advocate with all levels of healthcare leadership to aid in the understanding of the support that Sterile Processing needs to be successful.

The connections I have made through my own experience and my time attending HSPA events, educational offerings, and facilitating events such as the “Women in Sterile Processing” conference have given me the network and tools needed to push through barriers and succeed. It’s time I give back more to the community that supported me. I believe my experience is unique, and I would be honored to help more SPD professionals reach their goals.

How would you support the current mission of HSPA?

As a newly elected board member, I would continue building educational programs and supporting the Sterile Processing field and other members of patient care with the goal of creating more educators within our profession.

I would support the mission of HSPA by working with healthcare leadership around the world to bring the SPD to the forefront of patient care and actively working towards not only recognition but ensuring our voices as Sterile Processing professionals are heard at all levels. For example, I have been collaborating with associations outside of Sterile Processing, like APIC and AORN, providing education to help address SPD needs. A recent presentation connected infection preventionists to the different ways they should partner with their SPD.

I will continue building a network of leaders in Sterile Processing to help support more staff attendance at events and collaborate for more certification requirements. I will help HSPA partner with educators and healthcare leadership to provide more education for our SPD leaders on how to have difficult conversations and navigate current issues like staffing, supply chain shortages, and standard changes. I will continue advocating for the Sterile Processing profession to be recognized for what it truly is—patient care.

Describe any unique qualifications such as leadership, life, and business expertise that may set you apart from other candidates and position you as an effective board member.

As a Sterile Processing professional, I have worked my way up and have been at all levels—beginning as a surgical/Sterile Processing tech in the Air Force, where I spent eight years active duty working in two of the largest hospitals and training facilities in the Air Force, first as a tech, then a preceptor, supervisor, and educator. I deployed three times and developed short-term training programs for less-experienced techs to learn necessary skills to better care for the type of patients we received.

I was honorably discharged in 2008 and have worked mostly in Sterile Processing, taking on dual roles at times (surgical tech, anesthesia tech, supply chain). Learning different aspects of surgical patient care has allowed me to easily connect each item that comes through the SPD directly to the patient and care team that uses it. Understanding the role of each level and position along the way is helpful for collaboration with leadership and other departments.

Education, collaboration, and advocacy are high priorities in all that I do. I would be honored to advocate for Sterile Processing at an even higher level by serving on the HSPA Board of Directors.