Chike Healthcare Partners

Understanding the Problem

Sterile Processing Departments have been underperforming for far too long in our nation, which has led to the following issues:

These issues do not reflect the level of patient care that our healthcare providers desire for their patients. However, they are failures that are taking place around the nation, as shown in the examples below.

Industry News

Sterilization failure halts surgeries, offers lessons for hospitals nationwide

“Surgical services were dramatically reduced after instruments emerged from sterilizers with residue and staining, making them unsafe for patient use. Cataract surgeries were hit hardest, with135 cancelled, while joint replacement and laparoscopic procedures were also affected.”

Surgeons: North Florida Hospital’s ‘Dirty Instruments’ Issue Dates Back A Year

“Doctors vented their “disgust” over the “festering” problem in an extraordinary, early morning meeting with administration on Jan. 10. One week later, the hospital suspended all surgeries. A long-simmering crisis had boiled over.”

Colorado Hospital Had To Pause Surgeries For A Week Following A Complaint. Here’s What Health Inspectors Saw.

“The facility was unable to provide evidence SPD staffing levels had been increased to meet the post-expansion requirement,” an inspector wrote in one report.

Medical Center Makes Changes After Investigation Into Dirty Surgical Tools

“Following an investigation into unclean surgical tools, the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare found that multiple surgical patients nearly came in contact with tissue fragments left on medical tools.”

SPD Related Issues on the Top 10 ECRI Health Hazards

Year	Ranking	Hazard
2015	#4	Inadequate reprocessingof endoscopes & surgical Instruments
2016	#1	Inadequate cleaning of flexible endoscopes before disinfection
2017	#2	Inadequate of complex usable instruments
2018	#2	Endoscope reprocessing failure
2019	#5	Mishandling flexible scopes after disinfection
2020	#3	Infection risk from sterile processing errors

Reference: (HSPA, 2022: Endoscope Reprocessing Manual. p.6)

Our Gold Standard Strategies that Surgeons Can Depend On

Chike Healthcare Partners’ high-performing Perioperative/SPD leaders have made substantial improvements to major healthcare systems nationwide:

We committed to leading the much-needed paradigm shift in SPD, even if we have to be the disruptive solution that gets the job done. Too many leaders are using the same failed strategies but expecting different results. It is time to get the right people in the right seats!

“People are not your most important asset. The right people are. Get the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the right seats.” – Bill Collins, Good to Great!

We are the “right people” for the job. We are happy to help, and we know how to produce lasting results!

Common improvements made on every contract

Industry News

Our Gold Standard Services

We are dedicated to transforming SPD through consulting, staffing high performing leaders, educating teams and individuals and offering custom support services.

01 Sterile Processing Consulting

✓ Survey Readiness
✓ Develop current leaders
✓ Assess vulnerabilities and provide recommendation
✓ Lead projects

02 High Performing Sterile Processing Leadership Staffing

✓ Single & Multisite System Directors, Managers and Educators
✓ Ask about Perioperative Leaders if needed

03 Sterile Processing Education, Training & Support Services

✓ Staff Certification Examination Prep Course
✓ Custom SPD Academy built for Healthcare Systems
✓ Competency Development

03 (Students): Sterile Processing Certification Exam Prep Course

✓ CRCST – Entry course for SPD training
✓ CER – Entry course for Endoscope Reprocessing
✓ CIS – Advance Instrument course (Prerequisite: CRCST)
✓ CHL – Advance leadership course (Prerequisite: CRCST)

Amber Williams, MBA

The Chike Healthcare Partner’s Director we brought in helped us pass our JC Survey. We did not realize how much work needed to be done, but we are grateful that he stayed as long as he needed to, in order to get the job done. If he did not make the changes that he did we would have lost our accreditation. The surveyor was extremely impressed.

CEO

Denise Hoover, MBA, FACHE

Our Chike Consultant made significant, noteworthy technical changes in the Sterile Processing Department, including implementing a change in instrument processing which reduced instrument bioburden by over 50%.

OR Director

Kristen Myers, MBA, BSN,
RN, NE-BC

The Chike Health Interim leader we had was a skilled educator. He thrived teaching new hires about ANSI/AAMI Standards. During his time with us he implemented a training program that resulted in new staff members gaining competencies 75% faster than our previous processes

Chief of Surgery

Amber Williams, MBA

I appreciated how our CHike Healthcare Partner’s Consultant worked collaboratively with cross functional teams (SPD, OR, Clinics) to make system wide changes that boosted safety, quality and productivity, while reducing cost across the healthcare system.

OR Director

Denise Hoover, MBA, FACHE

The Chike Healthcare Partners team is friendly, approachable, and knowledgeable about SPD. They also hold a great deal of passion and enthusiasm about sterile processing standards, regulations and processes. If you want the job done accurately and you want change that will last after your interim leader leaves then Chike Healthcare Partners is the way to go!

AVP of Perioperative Services

Kristen Myers, MBA, BSN,
RN, NE-BC

I’ve worked in this industry for over 35 years and I have never witnessed this level of professionalism and quality in sterile processing. Great job!

Chief Medical Officer

Amber Williams, MBA

Our CHike Healthcare Partner educator made the sterile processing certification examination easy. The majority of the question that was asked on the test is what we went over on our practice test.