Last year, the Central Sterile Processing department at Banner North Colorado Medical Center reprocessed nearly 73,000 instrument trays and over 850,000 instruments. That efficiency will increase after completing a $2.9 million remodel to the decontamination room.
The CSPD department provides instrument reprocessing services 24/7 to 17 hospital departments and 11 Banner Medical Group clinics in northern Colorado. To meet current business needs and the demands of a level II trauma center, the decontamination room layout was completely gutted and then redesigned to facilitate workflows and operations efficiencies.
The room received new flooring, LED lighting, and state-of-the-art equipment, including Steris 7053HP washers, cart washers, drying cabinets, and height-adjustable sinks. NCMC became the first hospital in northern Colorado to install the Steris 7053 HP instrument washers with robotic cycle capability, which delivers a 25% reduction in manual cleaning time per set. The new washers will also produce 18 trays an hour, compared to six in the previous model, using 40-50% less water.
The project has been completed after one year of planning and almost eight months of construction.
“This remodel will lead to greater efficiency while allowing us to meet all of the current regulatory and quality standards,” said Lori Sterbenk, director of perioperative services at NCMC. “I’m very proud that NCMC is investing in state-of-the-art technology and equipment to ensure safe, quality care for our patients.”
Banner North Colorado Medical Center is a fully accredited, private, nonprofit facility licensed in Greeley, Colorado, owned by Banner Health, a nonprofit healthcare system with 33 hospitals in six states. It serves as a regional medical center offering a comprehensive scope of community-based and specialty health care services for an area including southern Wyoming, western Nebraska, western Kansas, and northeastern Colorado. It offers Emergency care, cancer care, heart care, orthopedics, inpatient and outpatient surgery, obstetrics, pediatrics, rehabilitation, intensive care, lab and medical imaging, and medical air transport. For more information, visit bannerhealth.com/ncmc.