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Chapter News

Please click here for Submission Standards for Communique and online Chapter News.

Arizona State Association of Central Service Professionals

Immediately following our January meeting, a meeting of the ASACSP was held to discuss the progress of our efforts to make certification mandatory in our state. Regrettably, the news was not what we had hoped. As you may know, the State of Arizona is in the midst of a financial crisis. We have been advised by several legislators and other individuals involved in the political process that we should postpone our efforts for a few months. This will allow our legislators to devote all of their time to the financial well-being of our state. However, we have no intention of giving up on our goal. We will continue to seek support for our cause within the industry so we can be fully prepared when it is time to meet with our legislature.

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California Central Service Association Chapter

CCSA is continuing the state-wide education seminars.

Region 5 & 6 (Fresno, Modesto, Bakersfield area) held several half-day sessions in various areas throughout the region and were very successful. That region is also hosting a joint seminar with APIC and AORN on Saturday, Feb. 6, 2010, at Children’s Hospital Central California in Madera. The faculty includes: Stephen Kovach of HealthMark Industries, Betty Strickland, Pryce Consultants, and Michele McKinley of STERIS Corp. Topics include: “How to Reduce Flash Sterilization,” “Infection Control Practitioner’s Survival Guide to Understanding Sterile Processing,” among others.

Regions 1, 2, 3 & 4 (Northern California) will be presenting their yearly seminar on January 23, 2010, at John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek. Topics for this event include: “Cleaning and Decontamination,” “Infection Prevention Technologies,” “Team Building in CS,” and “Improving Relationships between Sterile Processing and Surgery.” Faculty includes Arthur Henderson of STERIS, Charles Hughes of SPSmedical, Rose Seavey of Seavey Healthcare Consulting, and Timothy Parsons, CRCST, CPD Educator, John Muir Medical Center.

Regions 7 & 9 (Inland Empire and Orange County) held a successful seminar on December 5, 2009, with more than 125 attendees. The seminar was held at Tustin Medical Center. Speakers included CCSA Board Members Eileen Flavin-Samon and Marilyn Conde, and Bruce Sleboda of SPSmedical.

Region 8 (Los Angeles and Ventura Counties) is currently planning its annual seminar, which will be held in early April. Location, topic and speakers to be announced.

The biggest event for CCSA this year is the 25th Annual Conference, which will be held August 28-29, 2010, at the Crown Plaza Redondo Beach and Marina Hotel, in Redondo Beach. We are planning a great program, with many surprises.

The speaker list for this program includes:

  • Sue Klacik, CSS Manger, St. Elizabeth Health Care
  • Betty Strickland, President, Pryce Consultants
  • Gene Ricupito, Microsystems
  • Marilyn Conde, Manager, Material Management, St. Francis Medical Center; Secretary/Treasurer IAHCSMM
  • Rose Seavey, President/CEO Rose Seavey Healthcare Consulting Inc.
  • Jean Sargent, Director Supply Chain, USC Health Sciences
  • Scott Davis, Material Manager, Surgical Services University Medical Center of Southern Nevada
  • Cory Nestman, Sr. Professional Consultant, SterilTek, STERIS Corp.
  • Patti Koncur, Director Central Sterile processing, DMC, Detroit Medical Center Hospital
  • Charles Hughes, General Manager/Educator, SPSmedical
  • Stephen Kovach, HealthMark Industries
  • Keynote speaker TBA

This year’s program promises to be the best yet.

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Cascade Chapter

The Cascade chapter held its summer seminar on June 26, 2010, at Providence Medical Center in Portland, OR. We had a great turnout with intriguing speakers and a great vendor fair.

We will be hosting our annual fall seminar Oct. 1-2, 2010, at Chinook Winds resort/casino in Lincoln City, OR. The seminar will feature a hands-on workshop and chapter social Friday evening, and a vendor fair and educational sessions on Saturday. This will be a great educational opportunity, as well as a terrific place to network with other professionals in the industry. You can get more information on what’s happening in our area, as well as upcoming educational offerings, via our website www.nwcascadechapter.org .

Together, we are committed to continue our culture of shared learning within the industry by bringing together quality educators and vendors. Our goal is to deliver the most comprehensive and up-to-date information and standards of practice to our members.

Please feel free to contact any of the Cascade Chapter Executive Board members for more information on upcoming seminars and meetings—or how to become involved:

Kim Corless
President,
gkcorliss@comcast.net

Joe LeBouef
President-Elect
Joseph.F.Lebouef@kp.org

Brian McCormick
Treasurer,
Brian.McCormick@providence.org

Don Williams
Secretary,
dwilliams@samhealth.org

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Central Indiana Chapter

wo thumbs up to the 18 Clarian Health Central Service Technician Program graduates! Thirteen have applied immediately to take their certification exam, and over the past couple of weeks, I have received several phone calls from excited new CRCSTs. The names of the graduates are: Anthony Andrews, Dario Baker, Nicole Baxter, Martin Buehler, Keely Doyle, Gregory Edmonds, Tawanda Gardfrey, Jessica Hauck, Joseph Higgs, Marvin Jackson, Jarah Kindrick, Toni Kindrick, Lynne Kramer, David Robinson, Thomas Max Smalbach, Genetta Smith, Samantha Turman, and Stevie Wilson.

Class Picture

Thank you to the 19 Hoosiers who attended the IAHCSMM conference in San Diego. Special thanks to Mary Brown, CRCST, for taking the time to attend and accept the Peggy Ryan, RN, Technician Achievement Award.

The Central Indiana Chapter will be hosting its next seminar Friday, October 8, 2010. This is a great opportunity to accrue continuing education points to send in to IAHCSMM. For more information, contact Lana Phillips: (317) 962-8925;
e-mail: lphillips@clarian.org, or Dave Mathis: (317) 217-3457,
e-mail: dmathis@clarian.org.

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Central New York HealthCare Central Service Professional

1

Members from the WNY Association of SPD Managers joined 94 attendees and 22 vendors at the Welch-Allyn Lodge in Skaneateles, NY, for their Spring educational seminar. The CNYHCCSP Board of Directors treated attendees to a wine tasting and appetizers happy hour. That was the beginning of a great program.

2

The Welch-Allyn Lodge was absolutely beautiful and, most importantly, large enough to accommodate all the vendors and attendees. The education program presenters were Fred Alton, Bob Marrs, Nancy Chobin, Chuck Hughes, and Nyla “Skee” Japp. The topic: It Is All About Us.

3

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The Eastern Pennsylvania Association of Central Services

The August EPACS meeting was held at the Starlite Diner in Allentown, PA. After a great meal, EPACS President, Georgina Long, opened the meeting. Brenda Burian and Jamie Hinkle of St. Lukes Hospital introduced the guest speaker, Kristin DePue, account executive of Kimberly Clark Health Care. DePue discussed her products with the group and a Question and Answer session followed the presentation. After the presentation, a short business meeting was conducted.

The September and October EPACS meeting will again be held at the Starlite Diner. The September EPACS meeting will be hosted by Peggy Shaplin of Phoebe Home. The topic of the meeting will be DOP Free Gloves. The scheduled speaker is Art Miller of Omni Gloves. The October EPACS meeting will be hosted by Bob Kline of Bloomsburg Hospital. The topic of the meeting will be a round-table discussion about immediate use (flash) sterilization.

Be sure to save the date for the EPACS Fall Seminar, which will take place Saturday, October 9, 2010 at Lehigh Valley Hospital, 2545 Schoenearsville Road, Bethlehem, PA. Guest speakers will include Nancy Chobin, RN, and Rick Schultz of Spectrum Surgical.

For more information about the Fall Seminar, contact Addy Bell, seminar chairperson, Lehigh Valley Hospital at (484) 884-2429. or address changes, dues and newsletter information, contact Peggy Shaplin at (610) 794-5190; e-mail: mshaplin@phoebe.org.

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Grand Canyon Chapter

Greetings from the Sonoran Desert! In our previous submission, we were bragging about the mild spring we were having. We had only hit 100º once or twice. We forgot to knock on wood. It has been in triple digits for the past three weeks. On several days, the second digit was a “1”. But, it’s a dry heat. It’s also why many of our members live in the “high country” around Flagstaff, Show Low, Payson, Pinetop, and Cottonwood.

May Meeting

Our May meeting was held on the 22nd at Arrowhead Hospital in Glendale, AZ. Thank you, Carolyn Mattley, for the use of you beautiful conference room (having you as our president is pretty nice, too!). Michele McKinley from STERIS presented a stimulating program on “Past, Present & Future Technology of Sterility Assurance.” She also supplied breakfast for 35 attendees. Thank you, Michele and STERIS!

May Meeting

The May meeting attendees are reviewing the names submitted for the Fall Conference. The final choice for the conference name this year was CS/CPS: Exceptional People Meeting Exception Challenges.

June Meeting

Our June meeting was held at Scottsdale Healthcare - Shea in Scottsdale, AZ, on the 26th. Thank you, David Herron, for the use of your beautiful and roomy conference room. John May from CareFusion presented an interesting and humorous program on “Care & Handling of Surgical Instrumentation.” One of May’s associates drove 60 miles to supply our group with Lamar’s donuts; a local delicacy. He assured the 50 attendees that they were fat-, cholesterol- and sugar-free, and we chose to accept his story. Thank you, John and Carefusion!

June Meeting

Attendees are listening to presentation by John May from Carefusion on Care and Handling of Instruments.

Eighth Annual Conference

As we do each year, a contest was held to name the theme of our annual conference. The winner has his or her conference attendance fee paid by the chapter. This year’s winner was David Herron from Scottsdale Healthcare - Shea. His winning submission was “CS/SPD—Exceptional People Meeting Exceptional Challenges.” Nice job, David. Congratulations!

Our 8th annual conference will be held at the Fiesta Resort & Conference Center in Tempe, AZ, Saturday, October 9, 2010, from 8AM to 5PM, with a get-acquainted dinner Friday night. Our speaker’s committee has come up with a fantastic lineup of speakers. John Nies from BeliMed will present a program on the inner workings of a steam sterilizer. Joining Nies will be Nola Bayes, an independent educator and consultant, and the sterile processing and transport services manager at Wentworth-Douglass Hospital in Dover, NH. Many of you know Bayes from her presentations at our national conferences. We have also selected our motivational speaker, Diana Jordan—a healthcare humorist who has appeared on the Oprah Winfrey television show.

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Greater Rochester & Finger Lakes Central Service Association

GRFLCSA held its third Annual Education Seminar and Vendor Fair April 10, 2010. The program was held at the Unity Health System’s Education Auditorium in Rochester, NY. Sixty attendees were present, with 15 new members and 15 inactive members who updated, bringing our membership up to 116.

We enjoyed a full day of presentations from our speakers: Dr. Jonathan Wilder, Sponsored by SteriCert, who spoke on “Steam Quality”; Nick Sudano, “Hands On Modules with Synthes”; Mark Duro, sponsored by Duro Surgical, presented “CS Revonvation”; Mary Olivera, sponsored by Case Medical, presented on Cleaning, “The Critical First Step” ; and David Jagrosse, sponsored by Getinge, presented, “Washer Verification.”

Attendees received 5.0 CEs, plus a 1.0 CEU self-study CD-ROM to share with their departments. We would like to acknowledge our sponsors and thank them for allowing us to again provide free education to our members. We are a non-profit association and all of our proceeds support our technicians and managers. We were able to send two members to the IAHCSMM Annual Meeting in San Diego, CA.

Our next program will be held October 9, 2010, at The Unity Health System’s Educational Auditorium. The program sponsor is Getinge USA.

Please visit our website: www.grflcsa.org.

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Hampton Roads Sterile Processing & Central Service Association

The HRSP&CSA held its Economic Stimulus Education Program, which was sponsored by STERIS and Kimberly-Clark for six continuing education credits. The group of 20 attendees received many updates to their working world. The next educational program will be in October, just in time for National Healthcare Central Service & Sterile Processing Week. Stay tuned for more information.

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Heart of Ohio Chapter

The Heart of Ohio Chapter is joining forces with the Mid Ohio Central Service Professionals Chapter, the Buckeye Central Service Association, and the NW Ohio Central Service Association in presenting the second annual “All Ohio” conference of Central Service professionals. The event will take place October 1-3, 2010, and the theme will be “Innovation: Be a Part of the Future.”.The seminar is the second event to be sponsored by the newly formed Ohio Sterile Processing Association (OSPA). The two-and-a-half day IAHCSMM-approved seminar will feature a faculty of the best educators, industry leaders and professionals who will treat attendees to a combined 13 continuing education credits. Featured speakers from the event include: Dr. Wava Truscott, Martha Young, Nancy Chobin, Richard Schule, Rose Seavey, Diana Chamberlin, Natalie Lind, Wayne McPeek, and Sandy Maupin.

The first year’s meeting was attended by more than 100 professionals and this year’s program of events is anticipated to exceed 150. Meetings and presentations begin Friday, October 1 at 4pm and will go into the early evening. Dr. Truscott will be discussing Bio Films and other things that you never thought of! Saturday will feature notable topics on technology and innovation within the Central Sterile Supply Department, lunch, a vendor fair and a dinner. The price of the seminar will include both meals and breaks. Sunday will be kicked off by IAHCSMM’s own educational director Natalie Lind. She will motivate the audience to instill confidence in their team and enhance their career path.

The purpose of the newly formed Ohio Sterile Processing Association is to promote patient safety, the education of the CSSD professionals in Ohio, and to promote state mandated certification in Ohio. Our newly-elected officers include: Sandy Maupin, President, Rafael Fernandez, President-Elect, Kay Huston, Treasurer, David Narance, Secretary, Kathy Ly and John Best, Educational Committee, Marie Long and David Narance, Conference Committee, and Rod Chamblin, Vendor Committee. Chamblin is also our “inside” man helping the association with state-mandated certification as he works with State Senator Shannon Jones.

On the subject of state mandated certification, the news from the Association Committee is that wording has been added to the proposed bill to address professions who handle and reprocess flexible scopes. This is in response to concerns that non-certified or inadequately trained personnel may compromise patient safety with these complex devices. Please join your peers and fellow professionals at the October Ohio meeting!

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Illinois Eastern Missouri Central Service Organization

At the July meeting of IEMCSO, the following offices were filled:

President: Lynn McKinney, RN, CRCST, VA Medical Center

Vice President: Mary Jo Zykan, CRCST, Saint Anthony’s Health Center

Treasurer: Doris Ruby, CRCST, St. Luke’s Medical Center

Nominating Committee: Ron Muckenstrum, CRCST, FCS, Memorial Health Center and Lisa Huber, CRCST, ACE, FCS, Anderson Hospital

Thank you for your service to our chapter!

Save the date for IEMCSO’s Annual Spring Seminar scheduled for April 2, 2011.

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Kansas Society Healthcare for Central Service Professionals

The KSHCSP April meeting was held at Pratt Regional Medical Center. We provided an educational meeting with Mary Hall from Specialty Medical Systems Inc., who spoke on Care and Handling of Endoscopes. The meeting drew 30 attendees. After lunch, an optional program was presented with several pre-approved written articles for contact hours approved by both IAHCSMM and CBSPD. A test was administered after each presentation to receive contact hours. Our next educational meeting is planned for September 23-24, 2010, in Wichita, KS, the Central Plains Expo. We have Rick Schultz coming to present Instrument Care, and Nyla Japp will be speaking on Teamwork, and what needs to be done in the CSSD daily. We will have a round table session where Jeff Beard of Stryker Inc. will discuss power instrument care. Rick Schultz will have hands on instrument care. Robbie Wilson from Metrex will discuss best practices for enzymes and other chemicals and biowaste, and play a Jeopardy-inspired game with information from the Central Service Technical Manual. Kimberly Bamberg from 3M will be speaking on AAMI ST79 updates.

We are excited about the two days of education. For more information about the Central Plains Expo, contact edigerm@hotmail.com.

Although worthy of mention: We had three members become new IAHCSMM members.

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Keystone State Association of Sterile Processing Professionals

KASPP’s annual education seminar, held September 19, 2009, was a great success, drawing more than 105 attendees and 15 vendors. The conference, “Fall into Knowledge,” was hosted from 7 AM to 4 PM, at Lancaster General Hospital Stager Conference Centers. The meeting’s all-day presenter was SPS Medical’s, Chuck Hughes.

Topics included:

  • Sterilizations Standards Audit: Would Your Facility Pass?
  • Sterilization Standards: Fact or Fiction?
  • Extended Cycles and Flash Sterilization

Attendance for the day granted six Contact Hours.

Many different vendors/manufacturers displayed their wares, introducing new products, awarding prizes, and providing a multitude of information. The Vendor Exhibit took place in the Stager Conference Center from 10-10:30AM and 12:30–1:45 PM, and was very well attended.

Our January meeting was both informative and pertinent to our daily environments. Kathi Tremblay, BSN, RN, and Sherry Douglas, CRCST, spoke on “Care and Handling of Eye Instrumentation.” Their presentation was informative for all aspects of use, including during surgery and the care, handling and preparation after surgery. The presentation was enjoyed by all. KASPP granted one Contact Hour to attendees, at no charge to members, and presentations were followed with our Chapter’s regularly scheduled business meetings. We would like to thank members from Pinnacle Health, Harrisburg, for the great refreshments they provided at the meeting.

Due to weather conditions (yes that’s right, we had over two feet of snow in a very short time), our February meeting was canceled. However, we did reschedule our speaker for a later date.

Our Educational Offering for March will be done by Christine Rider, Senior Account Rep, 3M Infection Prevention Division. Her topic will be “What’s the Difference between Class 5 Integrating Indicators & Class 6 Emulating Indicators.” The educational offering begins at 6PM and is free to KASPP members (only $10.00 for non-members). IAHCSMM has approved one Contact Hour for the program.

KASPP continues to prepare for growth and monthly meetings throughout 2010. We have begun planning our next all-day education seminar, scheduled for September 18, 2010, from 7:30am-4:00PM at Lancaster General Hospital Stager Conference Center. Be sure to save the date! Attendees will be treated to a full day of learning, networking and fun. More details to follow. Hope to see you there!

If you are interesting in attending a monthly meeting, KASPP meets the second Tuesday of the month at Lancaster General Hospital, Lancaster, PA. Meetings include a 6PM educational offering, with one contact hour provided, and a business meeting follows at 7PM.

KASPP, 2009 Small Steris Chapter of the Year, is a progressive and fun chapter with many opportunities for networking and knowledge-building. Join us and help take the profession into the future! Contact Susan Dickel at sfdickel@lancastergeneral.org or (717) 544-4854 and she will send your membership information.

For more information, contact one of the following KASPP officers.
President: Linda M Coulombe, RN, BS, EdC, CNOR, CRCST
lmcoulom@lancastergeneral.org
Treasurer: Susan Fortier, RN
sfortier@wellspan.org
Secretary: Susan Dickel
sfdickel@lancastergeneral.org

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Long Island Association for Central Service

The new LIACS chapter officers for 2010-2011 are:

  • Dan Bialt, President
  • Melody Traversi, Treasurer
  • Kathleen Froehlich, Secretary
  • Larry Guittard, Past President
  • Denise Maxwell, Director
  • Joe Amadeo, 1-Year Ex-Officio
  • Don Gordon, 2-Year Ex-Officio

Golf Outing

LIACS held its annual golf outing at Rock Hill Golf and Country Club on July 12. Chairperson Dan Bialt incorporated some new twists this year, including the ability for golfers to purchase a five-foot rope for $10 to move your ball to a better lie during the event. Golfers also received five raffle tickets for a drawing to win a bottle of Patron Silver tequila.

Assisting Bialt throughout the event was Lisa Carabott (who arranged the food for the event, including a fantastic lobster dinner) and her husband Bill. Also helping out throughout the day with registration, refreshments for the golfers and photos were Corrine Van Note and Melody Traversi.

LIACS

This year, we were able to give away nine Certification scholarships, with the textbooks and exam fee included. In addition, we raised more than $3,000 for other educational initiatives.

The night was capped off with award presentations to Larry Guittard for his multiple terms as president of our organization and Corrine Van Note, who has contributed so much through the years and retired in June.

LIACS2

We would like to thank our 22 vendors for their tremendous support to make this fund-raising event so enjoyable and successful. Without their support, it would not be possible.

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Maryland Association Sterile Processing Professionals

On April 24, 2010, MASPP presented its Annual Spring Educational Seminar. Anne Arundel Medical Center hosted the event. The location was wonderful and the new educational center in the Health Sciences Pavilion far exceeded our expectations. The event was attended by 103 CS, OR, and Infection Control personnel. Speakers included Myrna Kauffman from STERIS Corp., Francis Zieman from 3M Corp., Ray Taurasi from Healthmark Corp., and Paula Hoffman from Total Repair Expresss Inc. Topics focused on Improving Patient Safety through Evidence-Based Practice. Lots of wonderful information, as well as interactive sessions, were beneficial for all in attendance. This conference presented attendees with six CEUs from IAHCSMM and CBSPD. We also held a brainstorming session with all of the CS department managers in attendance at this meeting. We took some time over lunch to discuss some future thoughts and plans for the Maryland Chapter, as well as ideas to help standardize some practices in CS departments across the state. More information will follow as this group continues to meet.

The next event for the Maryland Chapter will be in October 2010. This event will be educational, but also will be our Annual Vendor Fair. We have already received some correspondence from vendors who are interested in displaying their products. We are anticipating another great turnout. More information will follow once we obtain the final location and date. .

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Minnesota HealthCare Central Service Members Association

MHCSMA’s June Meeting was held June 1, 2010, at the Eagan Community Center.

Thank you, STERIS Corp., for hosting the event and providing a great speaker. Mike McNulty, District Service Manager with STERIS, presented an educational session on “Steam—What it is and how it works, steam quality, the challenges of steam in a healthcare setting, and the quality measurement techniques available.” After the educational session, we held our Problem Clinic and Business Meeting.

On October 7-8, 2010, we will be hosting the annual Upper Midwest Health Expo, which will provide two days packed with excellent educational seminars. This is a wonderful event that will allow attendees to meet and converse with other knowledgeable individuals in the Central Sterile Processing and Materials Management fields. For information on how to attend this event, please use the contact below or visit our website at www.mhcsma.org. For membership information, please contact Ginger Bullock at ginger.bullock@northmemorial.com.

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New York City Association for Central Service Professionals

The NYCACSP has been very busy pursuing mandatory certification in the state. The NYCACSP’s agenda has been full promoting educational programs co-sponsored by the Chapter and their Corporate Sponsors; holding certification courses; meeting with educational agencies to establish educational programs in colleges and occupational centers; and meeting with labor unions and elected officials to gain support for the NY State Central Service Technician bill.

This bill, once passed, will require mandatory certification for CS technicians in New York State. Our members feel it is necessary to update the requirements to work in Central Sterile as our roles and responsibilities have changed. As integral members of the perioperative team, we are responsible for ensuring that every surgical instrument—from the simple to the complex — adheres to AAMI and AORN standards and guidelines, manufacturer recommendations, and the sterilization parameters in order to promote patient and staff safety during the surgical procedure. In an effort to help elected officials understand what we do, we have begun a series of tours in CS departments across the state. During these tours, legislators “suit up” and are invited to view our world through a different set of eyes. We explain step-by-step what our responsibilities are and show them how it is done. The first legislator who attended one of these tours was Senator Susie Oppenheimer, the sponsor of the CS tech bill in the senate.

Most recently, Assemblyman Jonathan Bing took a tour at one of the largest facilities in New York City. Members of the NYC CS Chapter accompanied him on the tour and provided him with a detailed explanation of the requirements necessary in order to “get the job done.” The Assemblyman was amazed and could not understand why there are no requirements for this vital profession. Assemblyman Jonathan Bing was also one of the guest speakers at the NY City Chapter Annual Educational Meeting this past October. He spoke to attendees about the legislative process and the importance of getting involved. He also provided attendees with an update on the CS Tech Bill in NY and answered questions from the group. The appreciation and enthusiasm in the room was felt by all.

In a continuous effort to promote education and collaboration, Mary Olivera, one of our members, was invited to present at the local labor union SEIU 1199’s educational meeting for surgical technologists and CS technicians in New York City. The local labor union has begun the implementation of a CS Technicians’ committee with the purpose of discussing continuing education, practice and technician legislation. CS technician members of this local union are excited to finally have a committee of their own in which practice is set for the profession.

Anyone interested in participating in this committee should contact Raymond Valdez at St. Luke’s Hospital or Debora Hunte at the SEIU 1199 headquarters. This collaboration will be beneficial for the support of the technician’s bill in New York.

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New York State Association of CS Professionals

Seminar1

8th Annual Educational Seminar, Niagara Falls New York

The Seminar was titled: “CSI: Central Sterile Investigation.” The NYSACSP set new records for both attendees and vendors, and introduced a new hands-on session to the program. The attendees were given the opportunity to listen to and learn from an impressive line-up of educators, including our long-time leaders and mentors.

The NYSACSP Board of Directors met with representatives from AORN to discuss the certification/licensures bill and what the two representing groups expect from the bill.

We were also delighted to have Lisa Huber, IAHCSMM President, join our BOD meeting. The BOD would like to thank Ms. Huber for the advice given and her continuous support to the chapter.

Natalie Lind, IAHCSMM Educational Director, did more than participate as a speaker this year on our program. She did a walk-through of the conference center and hotel for a possible IAHCSMM Annual Meeting site in the future. Wilhelmina Jones, WNY President, NYSACSP President-Elect, Frank Riggi, Greater Rochester Rep, and Janice Griffin, NYC Rep, gave Ms. Lind the tour of the facilities. Ms. Lind also did a personal tour of the immediate surrounding area on her own.

Attendees

One of the most impressive details about the June 2010 seminar held in Niagara Falls was the fact that our previous record was broken with 194 attendees. Some of the new attendees were from ambulatory surgery centers that are interested and concerned with the same standards hospitals are requiring in decontamination and the sterile processing of equipment.

The NYSACSP is again always delighted to have our colleagues from Ohio, Pennsylvania and Canada join us in continuing education and mandatory certification discussions.

NYSACSP 2010 Chapter Scholarship

Six Winners

The winner of the Chapter Scholarship receives free conference registration, along with coverage of lodging and travel expenses. The six chapter winners are:

  • Patricia Hubler • Lakeside Memorial Hospital (Greater Rochester & Finger Lakes)
  • Gloria Lindsey • Glens Falls Hospital (Northeastern New York - Albany)
  • Clive Inniss • Jacobi Medical Center (Long Island)
  • Martha Suare z• St. Lukes Roosevelt (New York City)
  • Deborah Lotempio - Mohamed • Kenmore Mercy Hospital (Western New York - Buffalo)
  • Galina Mikhalevich • St. Elizabeth Medical Center (Central New York - Syracuse)

Educational Speakers and Topics

Motivational speaker Damien S. Berg addressed the topic “Attitude is Everything.” His experiences while serving his country overseas and returning home to serve his people in our field of expertise certainly kept the audience’s attention. Other speakers and topics included:

  • Nancy Chobin: The Future of Sterile Processing
  • Linda Wanzer, Betsy Vane and Ray Taurasi: Sterilization Jeopardy
  • Mary Olivera and Celeste Morris: Mandatory Certification
  • Rose Seavey: Loaner Trays
  • Charles Hughes: Medical Device Validation Testing
  • David Jagrosse: Washer Verification System
  • Natalie Lind: SPD: Part of the Surgical Team

Elizabeth (“Betsy”) Vane, Charles Hughes, Ray Taurasi, and Linda Wanzer: Sterilization Efficacy: Verification, Standards and Safety.

The entire group of speakers did an absolutely great job presenting their topics and keeping the audience’s attention, while beautiful weather and one of the world’s greatest wonders—Niagara Falls and the casino—just were steps away.

Complex Instruments

The new session added to our seminar this year was “Leading instrument manufacturers to review the cleaning, inspection, packaging, and sterilization instructions of their devices.” CSSD’s know all too well how complex instruments are in our profession. The hands-on experience in each lab was well attended.

The sessions were like speed-dating, but you had an hour with each manufacturer and, hopefully, we all learned something that could be applied in our sterile processing and decontamination departments. We will surely add the lab sessions to other programs.

Vendor Fair

Another part of the seminar that was a very big success and enjoyed by attendees was the vendor fair and exhibit. As with every seminar in which vendors participate, they brought their best. We received great advice and a lot of information about their product (along with some great goodies). We were again extremely happy with a record 43 vendors participating in the vendor fair and exhibit.

The BOD Meeting

Laura Beltran agreed to remain on the NYSACSP BOD as Ex-officio for another term. Ms. Beltran sits on the Regulatory Committee for Mandatory Certification. The Regulatory Committee consists of five dedicated people. The four other committee members are Mary Olivera, Tony Monaco, Steve Maley, and our lobbyist Celeste Morris.

Ms. Morris joined us at the June 2010 seminar in Niagara Falls and was a part of the panel that spoke on Mandatory Certification. Ms. Morris did an outstanding job explaining to the attendees the process involved in getting a bill on the assembly floor and passed.

Early Bird Registration Happy Hour

Spectrum Surgical sponsored the happy hour for the attendees who registered Thursday, June 10 at the Crowne Plaza sports club. Spectrum has sponsored the happy hour for the last two years and we broke another attendee record. John Armento, NYSACSP Ex-officio hosted the happy hour.

Thank you, Rick Schultz and John Armento, for your continuing support.

Extravaganza of Hats

And the winner for the most extravagant hat was…Melody Traversi, Chapter Rep for LIACS. It was fun seeing the ladies wearing their best and prettiest hats for the event. What made it even better was the fact that we did get some ladies who sported their garden, sports caps and plain old floppies that changed colors in the sixty’s. They were all very serious about parading their hats. We even managed to convince a couple of great guys to participate.

Hats

The Western New York chapter President Wilhelmina Jones decided to do the hat parade in recognition of Lisa Carabott, “the Hat Lady.” Lisa and WilliamCarabott are independent sale reps for SPS Medical and Buffalo General Hospital Supply. If you have ever attended an IAHCSMM Annual Meeting or the New York State Association of Central Service Professionals meeting you didn’t miss the pretty lady in the pretty hats (along with the husband that I’m sure dances professionally on weekends).

NYSACSP Chapter President Steve Maley wishes to thank all the many individuals who donated hours to make the seminar a success. Please visit the web-site for the pictures of the seminar at www.nycentralservice.org.

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Northwest Ohio Central Service Associates

NOWCSA will be hosting its next educational conference on May 15, 2010. Speakers will be Susan Klacik, IAHCSMM’s AAMI rep, and David Narance. Both speakers have spoken at the annual IAHCSMM conferences and both are authors of articles that have been published in various magazines.

In the February 2010 Central Source, I found a couple of articles of particular interest. One was an article about case carts that needed repair. The nurse manager that found a solution to the problem was David Narance. This was an interesting read. The other article was about our own Susan Gardner!

Mark your calendars for the October 1-3, 2010, Ohio conference, which will be held in Newark, OH. The conference will offer a weekend of education and fun.

Western Wisconsin Chapter of IAHCSMM

We had 19 individuals in attendance at our June meeting. Several committees were created: Membership, Workshop and Bylaws. We are looking for volunteers for the Nomination, Communication, Fundraising and Green Committees. We also have a talented individual who has stepped up to be our historian. We are making great strides.

Our focus for fall 2010 is our 2nd Annual Fall Workshop. Flyers will be emailed and mailed on August 23, 2010.

A Spine-tingling, Bone-crushing Experience:

The Western Wisconsin Chapter of IAHCSMM 2010 Fall Workshop & Vendor Fair will be held on October 9, 2010 at Sacred Heart Hospital, Eau Claire, WI.

The morning’s educational sessions will include: “Total Hip Replacement. Behind Every Surgeon is a Great Team”, presented by Dr. Earll, Orthopedic Surgeon; “AAMI ST79: The Steam Standard” presented by Matt Beauchaine from SPS Medical; and “What You Don’t See CAN Hurt You! Infection Control in the CS” by Terri Ruppel, Infection Control Specialist.

The Vendor Fair/Networking will be available from 10:00 am until 10:30 as well as from 11:30 to 12:30 (which will also be our lunch break.

After lunch we will present Hands-on Lab Stations running from 12:30 - 4:30pm. The vendors participating include:

  • Synthes: Saw Bone
  • Synthes: Spine: Saw Bone
  • Depuy: Total Knee System
  • Wright Medical: Total Hip System
  • Zimmer: Total Shoulder System
  • Smith & Nephew: Hip Resurfacing Instrumentation
  • Biomet: Oxford Hip System
  • Team Spine (Medtronic)

In each of the Hands-on Lab Stations the vendors will:

  1. Explain the system they are demonstrating; allow participants to use instrumentation and trial implants.
  2. Demonstrate what instrumentation can be disassembled for cleaning.
  3. Explain where bone, tissue and cement become lodged in each instrument.
  4. Provide information on critical items in each tray that must be present to perform the surgery.
  5. Provide manufacturer instructions for decontamination and sterilization of instrument sets.

Registration (including lunch) is $40.00 for members, $45.00 for nonmembers, and $20.00 for students. Send name, email address, membership number/or credentials, and fee to: Dawn Rooney, 2135 5th Ave, Edgar, WI 54426

For more information contact Dawn Rooney at: Dawn.rooney@ministryhealth.org, (715) 393-2725 or (715) 218-5865

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