Sterile processing techs are the unsung heroes of your facility, playing an invaluable role in patient safety by sending load after load of sterilized instruments back to the ORs. But are you doing enough to keep them safe? Between handling contaminated devices, working with strong chemicals, lifting heavy instrument sets, pushing heavy carts and the repetitive motion of work tasks, sterile processing techs are vulnerable to injury by the very nature of the job. But there’s another factor at work, as well.

“There’s the already high potential for injury coupled with the fact that there’s an almost constant pressure for quick turnaround,” says Natalie Lind, CRCST, CHL, FCS, the education director for the International Association of Healthcare Central Service Materiel Management (IAHCSMM) in Chicago, Ill. “And that pressure definitely adds to the risk for injury.”

In addition to creating a culture where sterile processing techs don’t feel the need to put turnaround times ahead of their own well-being, you should focus on the areas where injuries are most likely to occur and put stronger safety protocols in place.

When sterile processing techs remove hot instruments from washer-disinfectors, hand protection should always be used and care should be taken to avoid reaching directly into the machines, says Ms. Lind. This safety risk again centers on turnaround pressures. “Reprocessing techs are often tempted to inspect and assemble sterilized instruments while they’re still hot,” she adds.

Designate an area in the sterile processing department safely away from high-traffic areas and work zones where staff can place hot instruments sets to cool. Finally, your staff should remember that instruments cool at different rates. For example, says Ms. Lind, ring-handled instruments in a tray may be cool to the touch, but a weighted speculum in the same tray may still be very hot.

In August 2017, according to OSHA, an employee at Rock Surgery Center in Derby, Kan., was washing instruments in the decontamination room. When she turned to take the instruments to another sink, she slipped and fell, and fractured her humerus. That’s not necessarily surprising, because water often splashes to the floor in front of decontamination sinks.

The importance of proper footwear can’t be overstated when it comes to limiting slipping risks. “Look at the shoes your staff is wearing,” says Ms. Boynton. “Make sure all reprocessing techs have on slip-resistant shoes.”

Ms. Lind agrees that wearing proper footwear is important, but also supports the use of slip-resistant mats to prevent slip-and-fall incidents.

“Some facilities hesitate to add mats because they think dirt and bacteria collect underneath them,” says Ms. Lind. “But there are plenty of products currently on the market that you can run through your automated instrument washer. They might be just what you need to place in front of sinks or washers to prevent slips and falls.”

Another incident report from OSHA: In July 2015 at HCA West Florida Hospitals in Hudson, Fla., an employee was loading a 35% peracetic acid concentrate canister into a sterilizer when the acid sprayed out of the canister, burning the employee’s eyes, neck, upper chest, arm, hand and face. As that frightening example demonstrates, sterile processing techs are constantly exposed to hazardous chemicals, so wearing proper personal protection equipment (PPE) is imperative; make sure reprocessing techs always don head coverings, face shields, gloves, gowns and shoe covers.

Techs have to understand that although PPE can be hot and uncomfortable, it must be worn at all times. You must lead by example. “Managers may talk the talk, but then they’ll run into the decontamination area without PPE on just to tell somebody their PTO request was approved,” says Ms. Lind. “That sends the wrong message about safety.” OSM