Dear ______(insert name of manager, administrative executive or other):
The Central Service/Sterile Processing profession is ever-evolving in terms of surgical instrumentation, processing equipment, and standard and best practices. To stay abreast of all these changes, it’s essential that our CS department and the professionals who comprise it have ready access to the most current standards and guidelines, such as those provided by ANSI/AAMI, AORN, and the CDC.
Access to the latest standards helps ensure that our department is consistently following the most current recommendations and best practices that will promote patient and employee safety, and keep us in check with The Joint Commission and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid surveyors (who are now being trained on standards, such as ANSI/AAMI ST79 Comprehensive guide to steam sterilization and sterility assurance in health care facilities).
Industry experts recommend the following key resources for every CS department1:
1. ANSI/AAMI ST79:2010 and A1:2010 & A2:2011 & A3:2012 & A4:2013 Comprehensive guide to steam sterilization and sterility assurance in health care facilities
2. AORN Guidelines for Perioperative Practices, 2015
3. ANSI/AAMI ST58:2013 Chemical sterilization and high-level disinfection in health care facilities
4. ANSI/AAMI ST41: 2008/(R)2012 Ethylene oxide sterilization in health care facilities (for facilities using ethylene oxide)
5. CDC Guideline for Decontamination and Sterilization in Healthcare Facilities, 2008
The CDC Guideline for Decontamination and Sterilization in Healthcare Facilities, 2008, is available free of charge on the CDC’s website (www.cdc.gov), and our department has ensured that this latest version is on file. The other documents listed above cost between $100 and $200 each. I’m sure you will agree that budgeting for these documents is prudent given our healthcare organization’s desire to provide the very best patient care and quality customer service. Failing to have current standards on file in our department could prove costly for our facility if adverse events take place, such as surveyor citations/fines, costs associated with treating preventable infections or injuries to patients or staff, or litigation risks that could damage our facility’s reputation.
Diligent adherence to the latest standards and best practices will help drive patient and employee safety, advance infection prevention efforts, and keep exemplary customer service a top priority. As such, it’s my hope that you will support this request for budget dollars to allow for our department’s purchase of the most current standards, as they become available.
Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns, or require additional information.
In the meantime, I’d like to thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,