come every week or so and
clutter our space with
empty jugs, we had our
water vendor hook up the
filtration system to our
actual tap, so staff don't
have to hunt me down
every time we're out of
fresh water.
These were things our
staff wanted. It was impor-
tant to involve them in the
process of the redesign — and implement their ideas whenever pos-
sible. When you add their suggestions, they own the changes, they're
invested in making them work and they take better overall care of
their SPD. Since the rebuild, I don't want to say our reprocessing
team works harder, because they've always worked hard, but they
seem happier and morale has gone up as a result.
Blank slate
Reprocessing techs contribute in a significant way to efficient and
safe surgical care, and the area in which they work should reflect the
importance of the tasks they perform. Investing in the tools they need
to improve their performance will pay you back in the form of a more
engaged staff. Take their suggestions for design improvements seri-
ously, and capitalize on your chance to design the department exactly
the way they want it. No detail is too small to examine.
OSM
F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y. N E T • 4 1
• COMFORT MEASURE Organized and adjustable-height workstations
with ample lighting and visualization aids are a must in your newly
designed SPD.
Mr. DeLuca (william.deluca@mountsinai.org) is the associate director of the
sterile processing department at Mount Sinai West in New York, N.Y.