New mobile unit takes the worry out of equipment sterilization during healthcare construction [BD+C's 2014 Great Solutions Report]

Infection control, a constant worry for hospital administrators and clinical staffs, is heightened when the hospital is undergoing a major construction project. Mobile Sterilization Solutions, a mobile sterile-processing department, is designed to simplify the task.

By John Caulfield, Senior Editor | December 29, 2014

Infection control, a constant worry for hospital administrators and clinical staffs, is heightened when the hospital is undergoing a major construction project. Avoiding contamination of their facilities and medical equipment while construction work is going on—say, for a new addition or a major upgrade—can be particularly difficult when the hospital’s equipment sterilization unit is located anywhere near or in the path of the construction work.

About 18 months ago, Atlanta-based STERIS, a provider of technologies for surgical and critical care, contamination control, and infection protection, introduced Mobile Sterilization Solutions, a mobile sterile-processing department that can support a hospital’s sterilization systems during construction or in the event of a disaster.

The 53-foot-long unit can be driven to the hospital site on a tractor trailer and dropped off. Fully deployed, the unit expands to a width of about 34 feet.

Its V-PRO 1 low-temperature sterilization system is set up to process large volumes of heat- and moisture-sensitive devices. Its AMSCO 400 Series medium-steam sterilizer can sterilize heat- and moisture-stable materials in packs up to 25 pounds and still meet current compliance guidelines.

The mobile unit uses CS-iQ sterile processing workflow management software, which can manage documents and records electronically and provide status reports on equipment-monitoring results and daily maintenance notifications.

Steris’s Chris Antonucci says four units are currently in operation. Some hospitals have deployed the units for as long as a year.

Read about more innovations from BD+C's 2014 Great Solutions Report.

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