Sterile Processing Tech III/ OR Liaison - UofL Health

Overview

We are Hiring at UofL Health-Jewish Hospital!

Location: 200 Abraham Flexner Way Louisville, KY 40202

Shift: 1st shift/Full Time

About Us

UofL Health is a fully integrated regional academic health system with nine hospitals, four medical centers, Brown Cancer Center, Eye Institute, nearly 200 physician practice locations, and more than 1,000 providers in Louisville and the surrounding counties, including southern Indiana. Additional access to UofL Health is provided through a partnership with Carroll County Memorial Hospital.

Affiliated with the University of Louisville School of Medicine, UofL Health is committed to providing patients with access to the most advanced care available. This includes clinical trials, collaboration on research and the development of new technologies to both save and improve lives. With more than 14,000 team members – physicians, surgeons, nurses, pharmacists and other highly-skilled health care professionals, UofL Health is focused on one mission: to transform the health of communities we serve through compassionate, innovative, patient-centered care. For more information on UofL Health, go to www.UofLHealth.org.

Our MissionAs an academic health care system, we will transform the health of the communities we serve through compassionate, innovative, patient-centered care.

Job Summary

To assist in providing the highest quality patient care, by instructing Sterile Processing Technicians in the performance of job duties and performing job duties of the Sterile Processing Technician when staffing shortage or workload require it.

The primary purpose of Sterile Processing is to assist in direct patient care by ensuring the OR staff has correct, fully functional, sterile instrumentation delivered in a timely manner consistent with the highest standards of customer service. SPD Techs are asked to perform the four basic departmental functions (decontamination, prep and pack, sterilization, and dispatch) with efficiency, expertise, and accuracy. Further, the manner in which an SPD Tech will perform these duties will be characterized by resourcefulness, determination, courtesy, and professionalism. Techs are expected build and maintain a comprehensive body of knowledge with respect to the standards and procedures associated with the preparation, sterilization, storage, and delivery of surgical instrumentation.

The OR Liason position holds additional responsibilities distinct from either the SPD Tech I or II positions. Primarily, as the title suggests, it focuses on a narrower set of priorities that are delineated by management to achieve a particular goal. Nevertheless, the specialist position is still responsible to maintain the full complement of skills associated with the SPD Tech II job description. Further, the specialist may be called upon from time to time to fill the role of an SPD Tech II if patient needs dictate.

OR Liaison is to provide the SPD and the OR with an expert technician that can serve as a reliable point of professional communication and determined effort, which will enable surgical services to provide a higher quality of patient care. The Liaison assists with issues in the OR until schedule permits them to return to the main SPD to assist with normal tech duties.

Techs are expected to build and maintain a comprehensive body of knowledge with respect to the standards and procedures associated with the preparation, sterilization, storage, and delivery of surgical instrumentation per Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) Associates of perioperative Registered Nurses (AORN), and CDC guidelines.

Responsibilities

• Acts as a preceptor for new employees• Handles problems as they occur; manages difficult or emotional customer situations; responds promptly to customer needs; solicits customer feedback to improve service; responds to request for service and assistance• Communicates with OR staff and assess need for Immediate-Use Steam Sterilization (IUSS); liaison serves as point person for all IUSS Sterilization• Communicates quality and IUSS sterilization events in the OR to SPD Leadership• Completes monthly performance improvement assignment and assists with staff competency checks• Monitors all processing equipment and notifies appropriate repairperson when a malfunction occurs• Answers telephone promptly and assists caller with obtaining items needed. • Procures surgical instrumentation and places into case carts for scheduled and non-scheduled procedures.• Delivers scheduled case carts to the Surgery Department• Maintains responsibility for returned instrumentation that is unused and integrity of packaging has not been compromised• Conserves organizational resources• Decontaminates all reusable instruments, sets, utensils, and equipment used throughout the Medical Center complex• Inspects, assembles, and packages all decontaminated reusable instruments, sets, utensils, and other items for sterilization• Operates all processing equipment used within the department• Monitors the sterilization process through mechanical, chemical, and biological indicators

• Contribute to the efficient operation of the department• Performs dispatch, cleaning and decontamination, wrapping and packaging, sterilization and monitoring duties in a safe manner, to prevent injury to self, patients, visitors or other hospital personnel• Contributes to maintaining supplies and sterile items for use throughout the hospital; keeps department clean, neat, and well organized• Prioritizes work and focuses on consistent throughput • Contributes to all official departmental business in a professional manner• Maintains compliance with all company policies, procedures and standards of conduct • Complies with HIPAA privacy and security requirements to maintain confidentiality at all times• Performs other duties as assigned

Qualifications

Education:• High school diploma or GED/ equivalent (required)

Experience: • A minimum of 18 months of sterile processing experience (required)

Certification:• Double Certification by a nationally recognized program for Sterile Processing Technicians (i.e. CRCST or CSPDT AND CIS or SIS Certifications) (required)

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