Happy New Year to everyone from the DELTA Chapter

Our next event and the one that I know I personally looked forward to along with all other members was our bi-annual MDRAO Conference. There was plenty of learning for everyone to bring back to fellow members and workers. The vendors were very informative and I am sure that we all went home with a long wish list. This year’s conference had the most attendees and we are proud at Delta Chapter to say that we were able to sponsor twenty five members. Our thanks goes out to Denise Bosnjak for her dedicated work in teaching the MDRAO program which allows us to give back to our members.

Our next meeting in October was sponsored by Johnson & Johnson. Christopher Stout and Tony O’Dell were our presenters. They were proud to present their new Sterrad Sterilizer and biological incubator. It was exciting to hear and see the new technology along with the opportunity to answer any questions that the attending members had regarding this equipment. Our thanks again, to our vendors and their gracious sponsorships this year.

At our December meeting, we were enriched with two presenters from two different companies. Our first presenter was Donna Bird from Trudel and she caught our attention with the advantages of their products. We were able to ask questions and Donna left us wanting to learn more about Aesculap’s containers. Next up was Alejandra Silva from Steris. She presented Steris’s new reusable biological testing system and I could tell by the questions asked that the members were very interested in the new technology. We thank our vendor representatives for keeping MDRAO members aware of new and upcoming technology and changes.

On a personal note, MDR Week was a very big event at St. Joseph’s Healthcare in Hamilton where I am employed. Our Manager allowed six of us, two days-plus to prepare four posters highlighting the contribution that MDRD’s offer in the hospital setting. We designed and produced four 80 inch stand up full length posters. The team members were put into groups of two and we took turns presenting in the lobby of the Chartlon Campus for three full days from 7am to 3pm and one day at the King St. Campus. We were pleased with the variety and number of people who stopped and asked questions of the presenters at the booth. While in the lobby presenting, it was always a warm feeling to have fellow employees visit. In recognizing our global MDRD family, a photograph of our presenters and presentation was uploaded to IAHCSMM’s Facebook page CS Week.

As the year ended and a new one was to begin we suffered the loss of a very wonderful person; mentor, teacher and advocate for patients through her continuous efforts to improve and educate our MDRD staff. Marie Savaria died in a car accident December 8th, 2017. Marie was a long time instructor in our MDRAO program, having taught us all aspects of medical device reprocessing. Marie will be greatly missed by all who knew and worked with her.

In closing, I would like to encourage new and senior members alike to take the opportunity to be executive member of their Chapter. A big thank you to the wonderful executive team that I have the honour of working with: Tamiza Samji, Deo Macadand, Octavio Carvalho and Andrew Gallagher.As the New Year is here, we prepare for upcoming education days throughout the year and we wish all of our members a very happy and healthy new year!

President, Delta Chapter