A Day in the Life: Sterile Processing | Cincinnati Children's

www.cincinnatichildrens.org
Dwayne Taylor, Director, Sterile Processing: "My name is Dwayne Taylor. I'm the director of Sterile Processing and central distribution here at Cincinnati Children's. Today, we're going to walk through the Sterile Processing department to show you the day in the life of a surgical instrument set.
Here in decontamination, the process begins by giving the actual case cart that was used in the procedure. The instruments are separated from the cart, and the cart is sent to the cart washer. We move the instruments over to the cleaning area, where the instruments are sorted, separated and manually cleaned prior to going into the automated washers.
This is a far more technical role than simply washing dishes. There's a lot of regulatory requirements that we are required to follow associated with the cleaning, assembling and sterilization of the instrumentation."
Greg Baum, Sterile Processing Technician: "It's very challenging. It's very busy. Just fast-paced. But it's rewarding also. When we first started, we weren't using computers. Everything was just a typed-out count sheet of stuff. Now it's all much more technology involved than there was at the very beginning."
(natural sound of working)
Baum: "I take my knowledge and pass it on to the new people so they can be interested in the job and carry on the SPD program."
Mi'Esa Mapp, Sterile Processing Technician: "My name is Mi'Esa Mapp, and I have been working for sterile processing for five months. It has been challenging. But it's a learning opportunity because you learn new things every day. I'm saving the life by disinfecting and cleaning and making sure that there's no microorganisms or anything on the instruments or on the scopes."
Taylor: "This is more than a job to me. This is a responsibility to the community. This is how I give back to the community, by making sure these instruments, they are properly cleaned. They are properly sterilized. And that each patient gets the best care possible."