Ask the Educator

Guy Phipps, Co-Creator at SterileBits talks about the latest innovation in instrument protection that will solve many of the current industry problems from the sterile processing department to the end-user in the procedural areas.

The newest addition to the Healthmark Clinical Affairs team, Adam Okada shares how education played a critical role in driving quality in his sterile processing department.

Our Healthmark Education Specialists visit a lot of SP Departments around the United States. When we ask staff to explain the sterilizer load printout, we often get mixed answers. Malinda Elammari helps address what we should be looking for on the sterilizer printout.

In this episode, Stephen Kovach and host Kevin Anderson discuss care and handling of reusable brushes in SPD. Too often we see inadequate brush inventory, incorrect brushes for the job, or brushes that look like they've been put through a coffee grinder. Get rid of those gnarly brushes! Take care of your brushes and they will take care of your surgical instruments!

Have you practiced the art of storytelling to lead your SPD to the greatness? You should be! Listen to this interview with Beyond Clean founder and President, Hank Balch, to find out why and how to lead with storytelling.

In this episode, host Kevin Anderson interviews Jim VanPietersom of Fairbanks Memorial Hospital in Alaska. Jim, an IAHCSMM Leadership Award winner shares a lot of great information about how he and his team have built a high performing SPD. If you have aspirations to be a leader in SPD, don't miss this episode!

In this episode, John Whelan shares valuable information about how surveyors look at endoscopy as well as many of the common pitfalls that lead to findings by surveyors.

In this episode, Stephen Kovach talks about a simple quality management tool that can be used to proactively increase quality and safety before it reaches the patient, the tray quality audit!

As SP departments continue to process instruments from other internal and external facilities, the transportation of reusable medical devices becomes even more important. There are federal regulations and other things to consider when transporting instruments between facilities and departments. In this episode, Seth Hendee shares some tips to help you get ready for your next survey inspection of t...

Point of use care and transport of soiled surgical instruments and devices has been a focal point of accreditation surveys in recent years. Stephen Kovach shares simple ways to drive quality and compliance with these critical components of the instrument life cycle through case cart auditing.

Stephen Kovach and host Kevin Anderson discuss all things related to eyewash stations in order to help listeners prepare for accreditation surveyors.

Vested-Medical is a unique third-party processing and logistics company based in the Chicago area. In this episode, Tracy Raymond shares how Vested-Medical provides a unique service for their customers with a focus on quality.

"What is measured gets improved," is a famous quote from Peter Drucker. This old quote is still very much relevant today and in the sterile processing industry. In this interview, Jake McHugh shares what he has been able to learn and accomplish with the data that his team tracks and trends in their department.

In this episode, host Kevin Anderson interviews Marjorie Wall, the new President-Elect of IAHACSMM. We get to know Marjorie and a little bit about her vision for the sterile processing industry.

Cheron Rojo, Clinical Education Specialist shares some tips on how to get your logs and documentation ready for an accreditation surveyor.

In this episode, Stephen Kovach and host Kevin Anderson reflect on the need for sharing information and education differently due to the effects of the pandemic.

In this episode, Cheron Rojo, Clinical Education Specialist with Healthmark Industries shares some tips for making a positive first impression with accreditation surveyors. He shares both environmental and personnel related opportunities to create this positive first impression. It's never too early to prepare for accreditation!

In this episode, Stephen Kovach discusses two more unsung heroes of SPD, the instrument air gun and PPE for your ears.

The shortage in sterilization blue wrap has led to an increase in demand for peel pouches and rigid sterilization containers. In this episode, Seth Hendee speaks to several of the common questions we hear regarding peel pouches.

This question came in from a connection on social media. This is a great question that we don't discuss too often in the SPD industry. In this episode, Seth Hendee, Clinical Education Specialist with Healthmark Industries helps us to answer this question.

Stephen Kovach talks about another couple "unsung heroes of SPD," water spray arms and water guns. These devices are great for all things manual decontamination. While these tools are great, be sure to proceed with caution and the correct PPE!

For this installment of the Unsung Heroes of SPD Series, Stephen Kovach speaks about the demagnetizer and how important this piece of equipment can be to your department and your patients.

In this episode, Stephen Kovach talks about the importance of the peel pouch heat sealer device that we use every day in SPD. He also shares how industry standards encourage us to be including daily checks on these devices to ensure that they are working properly.

In this episode, Healthmark Clinical Education Coordinator Seth Hendee, gives us an overview of what we need to know about ANSI/AAMI ST79 amendments 1, 3, and 4. There is some great information in here that you will want to know about. But be sure to get your copy of the ST79 amendments for your sterile processing department.

Cheron Rojo, Clinical Education Coordinator at Healthmark Industries shares a more in depth look at the 2nd of the 4 recent amendments to the ST79 guideline for steam sterilization.