Beyond Clean Podcast

This special release episode of the Beyond Clean podcast features a recent  Expert   Serie s conference session with our Beyond Clean team members, Hank Balch (President & co-founder), Lindsay Brown (VP), Michael Matthews (VP), and Adam Okada (Clinical Manager) on the topic of making your Sterile Processing Network...work. The Beyond Clean team came together because of two things: passion and netw...

In this episode of Articles-On-The-Go, Hank Balch discusses why you should care about one of the most recent hospitals to make national headlines for problems in Sterile Processing. "The impact of the recent dirty surgery headline in New Jersey is understandably shocking. But it reveals much more about our industry than we may like to admit..." #sterileprocessing #wefightdirty #infectionrisk #pati...

This special release episode of the Beyond Clean podcast features a recent Expert Serie s conference session with our Vendor Management Expert Jeff Wertz, VP Business Development at Surgio Health. During this episode,  we paint the picture of a day in the life of a device representative – What are their priorities? What are their challenges? What kind of training do they receive regarding SPD acti...

This special release episode of the Beyond Clean podcast features a recent Expert Series conference session with our Enzymatic Expert Peggy Spitzer, A.A.S., B.A., MA.Ed., Clinical Education Manager at Certol International. Dive into the brewing debates in the industry related to cleaning chemicals! During this episode we talk about time, dosing, and whether or not its mandatory to use chemicals of...

This special release episode of the Beyond Clean podcast features a recent Expert Series conference session with our Manual Cleaning Expert Jamie Zarembinski, CCSVP, Clinical Educator at Key Surgical. Has manual cleaning changed at all in the last few years? Are we seeing more or less attention given to it by industry organizations? These are important questions to ask and during this interview, w...

This special release episode of the Beyond Clean podcast features a recent Expert Series conference session with our Water Quality Expert Jonathan Wilder, PhD, Managing Director for the Quality Processing Resource Group, LLC.  It's raining, it's pouring - water quality KNOWLEDGE! Join us for a discussion soaked in quality. We define some basic terms, talk about the ways water impacts our role in S...

This special release episode of the Beyond Clean podcast features a recent Expert Series conference session with our Steam Sterilization Expert Joel Schafer, CRCST, VP Engineering of Sterile Services, LLC. Science, physics, standards, testing, user compliance-- these concepts are all related to steam sterilization and this discussion is bound to make you sweat! Why are bowie dick tests important?...

This special release episode of the Beyond Clean podcast features a recent Expert Series conference session with our Gas Sterilization Expert Ted May, President & CEO of the Andersen Products Division of Andersen Sterilizers.  We were all about starting the conference off with an intensely honest conversation around Ethylene Oxide (EtO)! During this session we discussed exactly where gas steriliza...

Are students a help or a hindrance in our Sterile Processing departments? What makes a good Sterile Processing school and how do we ensure we're making the most of externships for our hospitals and the students themselves?  On this episode 8 of Beyond Clean season 12, we sit down with Adam Okada, clinical manager at Beyond Clean, Founder of Sterile Education, and Sterile Processing education super...

What can Uber teach the Sterile Processing Industry?  You might be surprised... On this Article-On-The-Go, Hank looks at the connections that we make in SPD and how technology can use our natural inclination toward social interaction to fuel innovation and interaction. "...In the world of SPD, I believe one of our greatest needs is for the best thinkers, the newest technologies, the ideas that are...

When the team at Minidoka Memorial Hospital in Rupert, Idaho first set their eyes on collaborating with their Sterile Processing team to reach a breathtaking goal of a zero percent infection rate in their Operating Room, they still had many proverbial mountains to climb.  On this episode 7 of Beyond Clean season 12, we sit down with Laura Clark, Amy Davis, and Kristi Clark from the Minidoka Memori...

What is a Sterile Processing "Interim Leader," how do you become one, and what experiences can you expect to encounter out in the field?  On this Beyond Clean episode 6 of Season 12, we sit down with Warren Nist, CSSD Consultant, Evolved Sterile Processing Consulting LLC and IAHCSMM Foundation Board Member to discuss his extensive career as an interim leader, consultant, and Sterile Processing adv...

As surgical volumes decreased over the last year and the need for additional PPE increased, the redistribution of blue wrap materials to fill the PPE supply need has caused massive supply issues. Now that surgical volumes are on the rise, the effects of that redistribution are begging the question: Is now the time to transition to rigid containers? On this Vendor Spotlight we speak with Barbara An...

Why can't we all just get along? What impact does drama have on a Sterile Processing team and how do these emotions impact both frontline technicians and department leaders? On this Beyond Clean episode 5 of Season 12, we sit down with Dina Budacan, Central Sterile Processing Manager and Decontamination Lead for one of Ireland's leading private healthcare facilities to discuss her recent article a...

What role does corrective action and punishment play in Sterile Services departments? If we're dealing with life and death, how many errors are too many for one technician or one department?  Are these even the right questions to be asking? On this Beyond Clean episode 4 of Season 12, we sit down with Gordon Allan, Decontamination Services Department Manager at Manchester University NHS Foundation...

How do you build a Sterile Processing career that you can be proud of? What are the keys to earning the trust of your customers and the respect of your peers in our industry? In short, how do you make your career count? On this Beyond Clean episode 3 of Season 12, we sit down for a very special interview with Bob Marrs, BA, ST, CRCST, CIS, CHL, Vice President of Organizational Development at Beyon...

What makes a great clinical educator? How should someone start preparing right now for a career as a clinical educator? On this Beyond Clean episode 2 of Season 12, we sit down with Marilyn Burns, RN, BS, CNOR, to talk all things education, learning, and the nitty gritty of how people interact with information in the clinical setting. Marilyn is the principal of MMBG Consulting, Director Portfolio...

Where can you write on sterile packaging? Is certain ink really toxic and potentially dangerous to patients? Is this a practical conversation for Sterile Processing teams or purely an academic one for curious nerds? On this Beyond Clean episode 1 of Season 12, we kick off the season with Kevin Anderson, Clinical Education Coordinator for Healthmark Industries, talking about all things ink, markers...

As healthcare professionals, we are no strangers to the complexity of flexible endoscope reprocessing. With different regulatory standards and IFUs to follow, it is hard to believe there is no clear direction to the process of drying internal endoscope channels--that is--until now. On this Beyond Clean Vendor Spotlight, we talk with George Cronin, National Sales Manager at TRICOR Systems Inc., abo...

What's the big deal with a one-way workflow in decontamination? Is it really a critical aspect of infection control or just a common sense application of traditional manufacturing in the Sterile Processing context? On this episode, we spoke with Steven Sutton, Director, Planning and Design Group with Belimed, to discuss what department design & layout have to do with fighting dirty in the decontam...

How do you grow in your Sterile Processing career if you don't want to go into leadership? What can departments do to cultivate and reward technical excellence? On this episode 7 of Season 11, we sat down with Loraine Durigan, Sterile Processing Traveling Manager at SpecialtyCare, to discuss her vision for combining career growth and technical knowledge to change the way Sterile Processing departm...

Have you ever created a hand-made sign for your department? "Don't Touch" "Stack Containers Here" "Press Button for Service" The examples of things we need to communicate in device reprocessing are endless. On this episode 6 of Season 11, we sat down with Garry Bassi, Director, Medical Device Reprocessing & Support Services at Mount Sinai Hospital (Toronto), to discuss his unique approach to depar...

What would you do if you had no decontamination room, no access to low-cost, reliable electricity and water, and a handful of laparoscopic devices to reprocess?  On episode we sat down with Delft University of Technology researcher Girish Malage, to discuss his field studies and innovative approach to solving the systemic laparoscopic challenges facing hospitals around the globe, and especially in...

Would your hospital administrators recognize you in the hallway? When is the last time you saw your CEO take a stroll through your Sterile Processing department? Why does any of this matter? On this episode, we sat down with Bryan Croft, Senior Vice President of Operations at Cedars-Sinai, for an honest conversation on the widespread disconnect between hospital leadership and the Sterile Processin...

What causes one person to take pride in their job, and someone else to treat it like just a paycheck? When you drill down to the very core of a Sterile Processing technician, what do you find that is really special? On this episode 3 of Season 11, we sat down with Beyond Clean Co-Founder & President Hank Balch for a unique discussion about the over-aching culture of Sterile Processing -- why it ma...