sterile processing
By Julie E . Williamson
Spotlighting Best Practices and Infection Prevention
Sterile Processing ( SP ) plays a vital role in care delivery , customer service , infection prevention and positive patient outcomes , so it ’ s imperative that SP professionals — who are responsible for cleaning , disinfecting , sterilizing , inspecting and delivering medical / surgical instruments to the operating room and other patient care areas — stay educated on best practices and the very latest standards and guidelines .
All who attend the 2021 IAHCSMM Annual Conference & Expo in October in Columbus , Ohio will have access to leading-edge education taught by the most knowledgeable and respected experts in the industry . They will leave the conference with new-found knowledge about the best practices to keep their departments running optimally and safely , and valuable steps to ensure the instruments they manage are properly cleaned , disinfected / sterilized and well-functioning .
The pandemic and its related uncertainties over the past year-and-a-half led IAHCSMM to move its Conference & Expo from May to October . IAHCSMM also embraced an innovative scheduling approach , with two back-to-back attendance options
( Conference Option A takes place Oct . 9-11 ; Conference Option B takes place Oct . 12-14 ). Each conference option will have a different keynote speaker ; however , all educational sessions and speakers will be identical for Option A and Option B . The two-day Expo will take place Oct . 11-12 — on the final day of conference Option A and the first day of conference Option .
What follows is a summarized schedule of events for both conference options . A virtual conference option ( Oct . 15-28 ) is also being offered for those unable to attend the in-person event . In-person attendees will receive complimentary access to the virtual conference .
Whichever option attendees choose , they can be confident they will receive the very best education and networking opportunities available to promote quality , safety and professionalism , and ensure they ’ re able to meet their healthcare customers ’ and patients ’ needs .
Julie E . Williamson serves as IAHCSMM ’ s senior editor and director of communications .
OPTION A SESSION AND EVENT SCHEDULE
Saturday , Oct . 9
10:30-11 a . m .: Opening Remarks 11 a . m . -12 p . m .: Opening Keynote ( Steve Pemberton ) 1:30-2 p . m .: Educational Session ( Advocacy Update ) 2:15-3:15 p . m .: Educational Session ( Update on Sterile Processing Best Practices ) 3:30-4 p . m .: Educational Session ( Water Safety & Quality During Medical Device Reprocessing ) 4:15-4:45 p . m .: Educational Session ( Instrument Care & Handling : How to Care for Your Microsurgical Instruments in 5 Easy Steps ) 5-6 p . m .: Educational Session ( Is It Clean ? Building a Quality & Audit Program Around Critical Elements Before Packaging ) 7 p . m .: Opening Reception for Attendees
Sunday , Oct . 10
7:30 a . m . -8 a . m .: Educational Session ( Infection Prevention 101 ) 8:15-8:45 a . m .: Educational Session ( How to Evaluate Stains After Steam Sterilization ) 9-10 a . m .: Educational Session ( Are You Ready for the New AAMI ST91 for Endoscope Reprocessing ?) 10:15-11:15 a . m .: Educational Session ( Bringing Quality & Innnovation to Sterile Processing ) 11:30 a . m . -12 p . m .: Educational Session ( How to Tackle Steam Sterilization Failures ) 1:30-2:30 p . m .: Educational Session ( Sterile Processing Unscripted ) 2:45-3:45 p . m .: Educational Session ( Lessons from the Field : Preparing for the Next Pandemic ) 4-5 p . m .: Educational Session ( Fact or Facebook Fiction ?) 5:15-5:45 p . m .: Educational Session ( What You Should Know About the Physical Ergonomic Challenges Facing Sterile Processing Professionals )
Monday , Oct . 11
7:30-8 a . m .: Educational Session ( Your Future Is in Your Hands : Building a Career Ladder in Sterile Processing ) 8:15-8:45 p . m .: Educational Session ( A Joint Commission Survey : What You Need to Know in Regard to High-Level Disinfection ) 9-10 a . m .: Educational Session ( Infection Control for the COVID-19 Era and Beyond ) 10:15-11:15 a . m .: Educational Session ( When Everything Goes Wrong : A Patient ’ s Perspective ) 11:30 a . m . -12 p . m .: Educational Session ( Understanding Enzymes and How to Get the Most out of Enzymatic Detergents ) 1:30-2 p . m .: Educational Session ( A Practical Guide for Disinfectants in SPD ) 2:15-2:45 p . m .: Educational Session ( Putting First Things First : What ’ s Your Priority ?) 2-6:30 p . m .: Expo Open
OPTION B SESSION AND EVENT SCHEDULE
Tuesday , Oct . 12
10:30-11 a . m .: Opening Remarks 11 a . m . -12 p . m .: Opening Keynote ( Jon Dorenbos ) 1:30-2 p . m .: Educational Session ( Instrument Care & Handling : How to Care for Your Microsurgical Instruments in 5 Easy Steps ) 2:15-3:15 p . m .: Educational Session ( Advocacy Update ) 2-6 p . m .: Expo Open 6:30 p . m .: Evening Reception
Wednesday , Oct . 13
7:30-8 a . m .: Educational Session ( Water Safety & Quality During Medical Device Reprocessing ) 8:15-8:45 a . m .: Educational Session ( Infection Prevention 101 ) 9-10 a . m .: Educational Session ( Update on Sterile Processing Best Practices ) 10:15-11:15 a . m .: Educational Session ( Is It Clean ? Building a Quality & Audit Program Around Critical Elements Before Packaging ) 11:30 a . m . -12 p . m .: Educational Session ( How to Evaluate Stains After Steam Sterilization ) 1:30-2:30 p . m .: Educational Session ( Are You Ready for the New AAMI ST91 for Endoscope Reprocessing ) 2:45-3:45 p . m .: Educational Session ( Bringing Quality & Innovation to SP ) 4-5 p . m .: Educational Session ( Sterile Processing Unscripted ) 5:15-5:45 p . m .: Educational Session ( What You Should Know About the Physical Ergonomic Challenges Facing Sterile Processing Professionals )
Thursday , Oct . 14
7:30-8 a . m .: Educational Session ( Understanding Enzymes and How to Get the Most out of Enzymatic Detergents ) 8:15-8:45 a . m .: Educational Session ( A Practical Guide to Disinfectants in SPD ) 9-10 a . m .: Educational Session ( Lessons from the Field : Preparing for the Next Pandemic ) 10:15-10:45 a . m .: Educational Session ( A Joint Commission Survey : What You Need to Know in Regard to High-Level Disinfection ) 11 a . m . -12 p . m .: Educational Session ( When Everything Goes Wrong : The Patient ’ s Perspective ) 1:30-2:30 p . m .: Educational Session ( Infection Control for the COVID-19 Era and Beyond ) 2:45-3:15 p . m .: Educational Session ( The Future Is in Your Hands : Building a Career Ladder in Sterile Processing ) 3:30-4:30 p . m .: Educational Session ( Fact or Facebook Fiction ) 4:45-5:45 p . m .: Educational Session ( How to Tackle Steam Sterilization Failures ) 6-6:30 p . m .: Educational Session ( Putting First Things First : What ’ s Your Priority ?) 7 p . m .: Closing Reception