6 4 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • O C T O B E R 2 0 1 9
S
terile processing techs are the unsung heroes of your
facility, playing an invaluable role in patient safety by
sending load after load of sterilized instruments back
to the ORs. But are you doing enough to keep them
safe? Between handling contaminated devices, work-
ing with strong chemicals, lifting heavy instrument sets, pushing
heavy carts and the repetitive motion of work tasks, sterile pro-
cessing techs are vulnerable to injury by the very nature of the job.
Jared Bilski | Senior Associate Editor
How Safe Is Your
Sterile Processing Department?
Protect your reprocessing team from these 5 injury risks.
• EASY ACCESS To prevent strain injuries, make sure heavy instruments and supplies are stored between the waist and thigh
area, so staff members don't have to reach above their shoulders or bend low to the ground.