instrument sets. Instead, track how many instruments your techs ster-
ilize on an average day.
"That drives how much equipment and space you need," says sur-
geon Joseph Lelli, MD, the director of Children's Hospital.
The size of your SPD has a lot to do with the services your facility
will offer as well as the number of ORs it will run, says Mark Voigt,
BS, director of central processing at CentraCare Health in St. Cloud,
Minn., a 24-OR hospital with an 18,000-square-foot SPD.
2. Add the right equipment
Every SPD needs an autoclave, which can cost up to $200,000, but
make sure yours is large enough to accommodate the tools you plan
to reprocess and the services you plan to offer over the next 15 years.
That's how long an autoclave is expected to last and how long it
needs to handle your instrument load, says Mr. Voigt.
Barcoded instrument tracking software lets you monitor instru-
ments and track their locations as they move though the reprocess-
ing system. It also tracks instrument usage, which helps with con-
ducting regular maintenance and knowing when to replace instru-
ments. It also measures how many items your reprocessing staff
handles, which can help you allocate the correct manpower and
resources within the department. Another added benefit: The soft-
ware lets you link instrumentation to individual patients, so you can
see what devices were used during specific cases. That detailed
level of tracking can help you determine if contaminated instru-
ments are to blame when you're drilling down to the cause of a sur-
gical site infection.
3. Focus on the layout
While proximity to the OR, equipment and size are all important fac-
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