Proper endoscope processing requires strict adherence to instructions for use, national standards, and professional society guidelines. This presentation will outline the latest national standard on flexible endoscope processing, ANSI/AAMI ST91. It will highlight key differences between the 2015 version and the 2021 update. Attendees will learn how to review the document to evaluate areas of noncompliance and create a crosswalk for implementation of the recommendations and requirements in the standard.
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Mary Ann Drosnock: Drosnock is the Director of Clinical Affairs at Healthmark Industries, where she leads a team of educators. She served as co-chair of AAMI Working Group 84 for ST91 from 2013 to 2021. Before Healthmark, she managed the Infection Control Program for Olympus, worked as a pharmaceutical microbiologist, and taught microbiology courses at the college level. Drosnock has a bachelor’s degree in Biology from Albright College and a master’s degree in Quality/Regulatory from Temple. She is certified in Infection Control and Endoscope Reprocessing and is a Fellow for APIC and AAMI. She will graduate as a Doctor of Health Science this summer.
This session addresses the importance of cognitive and mental health as our professionals work every day to maintain stress levels and stability. Great mental health is needed as we deal with patient safety, while also working to be both efficient and productive.
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Sterile Processing provides a critical foundation for patient safety in medical settings. For many years, Ofstead’s team has emphasized the need to ensure best practices for “every patient, every time,” while keeping an eye on worker safety and health. Now, other stakeholders are recognizing that frontline workers need to be protected and well supported to function optimally. This session features two epidemiologists who will share evidence and perspectives about hot topics in Sterile Processing and worker health. They will cover recent developments regarding COVID-19, superbugs, biofilm, droplet dispersal in decontamination areas, and challenges with endoscopes and probes. Additionally, they will provide scientific evidence on the impact of self-care on wellness and stress levels, including proven benefits of fresh air, exercising and eating dark chocolate. The audience will learn about strategies for leveraging scientific evidence to get the resources they need to ensure quality and safety for every patient and every worker, every time.
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Cori Ofstead: Ofstead is an epidemiologist with 30 years of experience in designing and conducting real-world studies on instrument processing and infection prevention. Her studies have been published HSPA’s PROCESS magazine and peer-reviewed journals. Ofstead is recognized as a leading educator in endoscope reprocessing and infection control and has spoken at conferences, including HSPA, AORN, APIC, SGNA, ASGE, and CDC. She is an active member of HSPA and a voting member of AAMI Workgroup 84, where she is involved with ST91 (endoscope reprocessing) and TIR99 (ultrasound probes and dilators). She was a contributing author for HSPA’s endoscope reprocessing textbook.
Krystina Hopkins: Hopkins is a research manager with Ofstead & Associates where she leads projects in environmental health, instrument processing, and healthcare cost and quality. She also develops continuing education material to support quality initiatives in infection control. She has an MPH in environmental health and a background in microbiology. Her research has been published in HSPA’s PROCESS magazine and in peer-reviewed journals. She is an active member of HSPA and has over 14 years of research experience. Previously, she performed research management and coordination roles at Medica Research Institute, the University of Minnesota, and the Minnesota Department of Health.This presentation will show the effects of time and environmental conditions on contaminated instrumentation from the point of use until the decontamination process begins, based on recent research findings. In 2021, research was conducted on the solubility of dried soil on reusable medical devices. This cutting-edge investigation supports the scientific justification for point-of-use treatment and provides guidance for environmental conditions and time constraints when transporting soiled surgical instrumentation.
Learning Objectives:
Terra Kremer: Kremer is the Senior Program Manager of Microbiological Quality & Sterility Assurance at Johnson & Johnson and provides technical, strategic and leadership support to the Johnson & Johnson Microbiological Quality & Sterility Assurance organization. She is the technical lead of the Device Processing Tiger team, co-sponsors the Johnson & Johnson Device Processing Council and is an active member in both ASTM and AAMI organizations, focusing on standard development for device processing. Kremer is the co-chair of the AAMI WG-95 Water for Reprocessing Committee, and U.S. ISO expert for the development of ISO/TS 5111, Water Quality for Sterilization and Washer Disinfectors. Kremer is an Analytical Chemist with 20 years of experience in laboratory testing of medical device, pharmaceutical and tissue products, and is a PhD candidate for Microbiology.
Jon Wood: Wood serves as a Clinical Educator with HSPA. Prior to his current role, he was with the University of Colorado Health System, serving as a Regulatory and Quality Improvement Specialist in high-level disinfection and sterilization. Wood is also a certified surgical technologist, holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Texas, and served our country as a Naval Corpsman and surgical technologist.This commitment to advancing Sterile Processing (SP) knowledge, skill sets and professionalism is why over 40,000 members and certification holders rely on HSPA to keep them sharp, focused and abreast of the very latest standards, best practices and technological advancements impacting the SP profession.