Healthcare Hygiene magazine September 2020 September 2020 | Page 34

sterile processing
By Nicholas Schmitz, PMP, LSSBB
Difficult Times Deliver
Opportunities for Lasting
Positive Change
We
are all facing some unprecedented times and unforeseen
challenges this year, including those working in
sterile processing (SP). Many of these professionals and their
departments are functioning in unexpected circumstances and
stepping up to do everything they can to help their healthcare
customers, facilities and patients. Put simply, excelling during
this trying time of adversity is another service they’re offering.
These difficult times are also challenging assumptions and
habits. That can feel disruptive at first, but it can lead to positive
outcomes when viewed and explored in a positive light and as
an opportunity for growth and improvement.
It’s clear that healthcare isn’t the only business segment facing
strife and uncertainty. Businesses throughout the world have found
themselves challenged to serve their customers within the context
of our new reality. And they’ve had to reinvent and innovate to
stay relevant and effective in the eyes of their customers and
communities. Imagine being an establishment that can no longer
allow customers to come inside. How these companies/businesses
react and adapt will likely determine whether they survive in the
days, weeks and months ahead.
One leading corporation has provided a blueprint that other
organizations and businesses can follow. In a national webcast
to McDonald’s restaurant operators earlier this year, the company
announced it would phase out its all-day breakfast menu, at least
temporarily. Here are some key takeaways from that decision that
might be applied to any business facing trying times, including
the SP department (SPD)]:
➊ Simplify/Scale back production
As Crain’s Chicago Business explained, the fast food giant’s
decision was an opportunity to “streamline kitchen operations
during the outbreak.” Doing away with all-day breakfast likely
meant increased efficiency at the drive-thru, too, since many
cities at the time banned sit-down dining during the pandemic.
SP staff can identify ways to streamline their own operations and
exploring whether there are things that were historically done
that consumed more than their fair share of resources within the
department. If so, those might be the areas worthy of targeting
first during the streamlining process. Leaders should think of
task pain points that, if eliminated, would not negatively impact
the quality of instruments and might, in fact, improve customer
service and quality.
➋ Streamline distribution
McDonald’s more limited temporary menu could create a
faster customer experience, as long as the company remained
confident the change wouldn’t hurt sales in the process.
Streamlined distribution is directly relatable to the healthcare
segment and should be part of SP professionals’ thought process
as well. Can SP leaders eliminate some decisions for their team
members to allow them to focus their time, effort and energy
on more important/essential tasks? During this time, many
of these professionals have likely been asked to do things
they have never been asked to do previously. With that added
complexity, departmental leaders should ask themselves whether
an opportunity exists to simplify elsewhere, without impacting
quality. They may be surprised to learn that simplifying a process
or task could improve employee morale while enhancing the
department’s service in other areas.
➌ Reinforce customer habits
Someday, today’s current troubles will lessen or altogether
become a thing of the past. By streamlining policies, practices
and/or procedures now, SP professionals will be better positioned
to keep serving their customers most effectively and retaining (or
building) a more effective interdisciplinary relationship.
This may be an excellent time for SP leaders to present and
receive acceptance of changes from their partners, including
departmental teammates and customers. Are there things the
department does that the SP leaders and their team wish they
didn’t have to, or is there a better or more efficient way to do
those tasks? This might also be a good opportunity to reflect on
those aspects and, perhaps, even curtail some duties that aren’t
serving the department or its customers well.
➍ Readjust what isn’t working well
SP leaders should explore what simple things can be asked
(perhaps to those in the Operating Room) to be done that would
simplify and improve operations in Sterile Processing? Certainly,
there are some things that likely were discussed previously (prior
to the pandemic) that never came to fruition. Why not take the
opportunity to raise those issues again now? We’re all having to
make changes to ensure the safe delivery of care. Since everyone is
already changing and, in some cases, operating outside of comfort
zones, resistance could very well be lessened.
➎ Control the timing
It’s worth noting that while McDonald’s announced this menu
change to its operators, and at least one of these operators leaked
the decision to a prominent business publication, there appears
to be nothing to suggest that McDonald’s planned to announce
the menu change publicly. This could be a lesson for healthcare
as well. Again, with nearly every person facing ongoing change
and understanding that “status quo” is, increasingly, no longer
the norm, some changes can happen quite readily and without
fanfare or drama (as long as those change won’t negatively impact
quality, safety or readiness).
Seeking ways to instill positive change within the department
will help set the department up for success today as well as in the
future. It’s a move that could very well improve outcomes for the
SPD, its healthcare customers and the patients being served.
Nicholas Schmitz is president of Schmitz Consulting LLC. He
holds two master’s degrees in organization development and
change management, and project management, and is a certified
Project Management Professional and Lean Six Sigma Black Belt.
He has served as a columnist and contributing author for the
International Association of Healthcare Central Service Materiel
Management (IAHCSMM) since 2016.
34 september 2020 • www.healthcarehygienemagazine.com