| Past Issues | Printer-Friendly | Send to a Friend | Advertise | www.csao.net | January 3, 2014 |
PRESIDENT'S REPORT
 As we enter into 2014, I am excited to move forward with the planning and implementation of the three-year Strategic Plan that is in its final stages. The CSAO Board of Directors met in Toronto on October 24 & 25, 2013. A facilitated strategic planning session was held with Chris Ward of Riverhorse Brand Advisors on the 24th. It was a great session with many of the same areas of focus identified such as membership, education and recognition. Chris will have the final plan ready within the next month. Communication will go out to all members with more detail on the final plan when it is ready. Learn More... VICE PRESIDENT'S REPORT
 Hello and happy new year to all:It has been a great 2013, and I'm looking forward to another exciting yet challenging year ahead. As an Executive Team, 2013 was spent planning and organizing the Annual Conference, which has a main theme of Canadian Reprocessing. We spent long hours attaining and working with a Strategic Planner to help us plot out our future. Learn More... CHAPTER REPORT
We had a meeting in Napenee on November 7, 2013. It was not a great turn out from that part of the chapter. We talked about the conference, what we liked and what we would like changed. We felt that it was a better conference than what we have had in a couple of years. The speakers were very interesting. We have to find a way to bring people back as membership numbers are down. I would like you to look at the C.A.F.E web page to see the type of speakers they get to talk at their yearly conference. They give you lots to think about.
Learn More... The Delta Chapter met in St. Catherines at the Niagara Regional Health Care Hospital in October and toured their new facility. We also viewed pictures from the CSAO conference and networked with our colleagues.
We celebrated Christmas on Dec. 11 in Kitchener, at Grand River Hospital. We enjoyed a wonderful Chinese dinner and a presentation by Getinge on the benefits of an Instrument Tracking System.
Learn More... The ETA Chapter has met twice since the conference in September. On October 22, the Chapter met at St. Michael's Hospital in downtown Toronto, sponsored by 3M, where aside from chapter and provincial updates, the new Super Rapid Readout BI test was introduced. The Chapter also held its annual Christmas Dinner on Tuesday, December 10, at the Mandarin. This was as always a great networking opportunity and time to enjoy some holiday cheer with our CSAO group.
Learn More... Happy new year and all the best in 2014 from your Theta Chapter Executive: Colleen Landers, Jeffery Phelps, Tammy Bennardo, Nancy Aelick
Our Theta Chapter membership stands at 99. Thank you to all our members for participating in our meetings and supporting the Theta Chapter.
So far we have had two great Education Sessions with good attendance; September 18, on Manufacturers Instructions November 6, on Monitor and Recall.
Learn More... Dear Members:
This is Election year and the CSAO Executive is seeking candidates for the Vice President’s position. Please make sure you meet all of the criteria of the nomination including Article 5.2 of the Constitution 2013 for the Vice President’s position. Nomination forms will be posted on the website February 1, 2014. Completed nominations must be returned to the CSAO Office by March 15, 2014 by mail, fax or scanned email. The nominations will be reviewed, and if there is only one candidate for the Vice President position, they will be acclaimed and no vote will be required. If more than one candidate is submitted then a vote of full membership must occur. On April 1, 2014, ballots will be sent out to all members by mail. On April 30, ballots must be received in the CSAO Office by mail, fax or scanned email. On May 1, the ballots will be reviewed by the nominating committee and counted. The successful candidate for the Vice President’s position will be announced in our July e-Newsletter. We hope this will be an effective election guide for you when selecting the Vice President’s position for the CSAO Executive.
Learn More...  The WFHSS dedicates itself to the promotion of the worldwide harmonization of sterilization departments and of decontamination practices especially by providing: A meeting place for national and regional non-profit sterilization societies, thus stimulating cooperation and the exchange of information and best practices; and information via its website to all our stakeholders and interested parties. In this way we make a contribution not only to ensure that the quality of reprocessing is of the highest possible level across the globe but also to make the basic right of every patient to be treated with a medical device of a good quality come true. Integrity and objectivity, openness and transparency, cooperation and support are the core values in our organization.CSAO is a proud member and was proud to send representation to the 2013 World congress in Turkey. Learn More... SPECIAL EVENTS
Staff in Sterile Processing and Medical Device Reprocessing are often overlooked for the important and critical work they do behind the scenes to keep our hospitals and patients safe. Without these vital technicians and attendants, there would be very few or no surgical procedures performed. Staff use their skills to identify devices, disassemble, inspect and sterilize, always making decisions for the correct reprocessing of reusable medical devices. Staff ensure that equipment is functioning correctly by monitoring and testing following relevant standards and Best Practice documents. Staff must be certified to work in this area of expertise and must re-certify every five years to keep up with changing practices and technology.
Learn More... Looking back at three days of education, workshops and networking at the September 8-10, 2013, annual conference.
Learn More... Blending Our Talents - Orchestrating Better Outcomes
Society of Gastroenterology and Associates Annual Conference Learn More... The 2014 IAHCSMM Annual Conference & Expo will take place in Columbus, Ohio, May 4-7, and will offer the widest range of Central Service educational offerings ever. This conference will provide attendees all of the resources needed to elevate their knowledge and promote ongoing quality and professionalism within their department.
Learn More... COMMUNITY AND HOSPITAL INFECTION CONTROL ASSOCIATION-CANADA
2014 National Education Conference Prevention, A Port in any Storm Halifax, Nova Scotia May 25-28, 2014 Learn More... This years annual CSAO Conference
MDR GETAWAY – LEARN AND PLAY September 7, 8 and 9, 2014, at the International Plaza Hotel and Conference Centre (formally the DoubleTree by Hilton) Learn More... 2014 CSGNA National Conference
October 2-4, 2014 Scotiabank Convention Centre Niagara Falls, Ontario Learn More... Annual WFHSS & Central and Eastern European Congress 2014
October 15-18, 2014 Prague, Czech Republic (Organized by WFHSS and SPNN) Learn More... CANADIAN STANDARDS & ACCREDITATION
This Standard sets out requirements for health care settings to establish, document and maintain their own policies and procedures for the reprocessing of medical devices, forming a unique internal QMS.
Learn More... Provincial Infectious Diseases Advisory Committee (PIDAC) document with latest revisions (Feb. 2010).
Learn More... Accreditation Canada's Standards for the Reprocessing and Sterilization of Reusable Medical Devices were prepared in response to requests from health service organizations, regulators and governments for a set of national standards. They have been developed in conjunction with the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) and incorporate many elements from existing CSA standards.
Learn More...  The complexity and temperature sensitivity of flexible endoscopes makes cleaning followed by sterilization/disinfection difficult. While sterilization may be optimal, the minimum acceptable standard for reprocessing endoscopes is high level disinfection (HLD). At all times, cleaning must precede high level disinfection. Endoscopic accessories do require sterilization. Whenever flexible endoscopes are reprocessed, those involved in the reprocessing must adhere to the validated protocol recommended by the manufacturer of the endoscope.
Learn More... CSA Z314.3 Effective sterilization in health care settings by the steam process (sixth edition) is a new edition draft Standard under development. The draft specifies essential elements for using steam to sterilize medical devices in health care settings, with the object of achieving an adequate level of sterility assurance and minimizing the risk of injury to health care setting personnel and patients.
Learn More... ARTICLES RELATED TO STERILIZATION AND DECONTAMINATION
For more than a century, STERIS Corporation has recognized and valued the daily commitment of the health care professional toward quality patient care. STERIS University is committed to today's leaders and health care professionals as well as supporting the future leaders of tomorrow. We strive to provide a quality education and a training environment to support our surgical and infection/contamination prevention solutions. Allow us to help you and your team with quality education and training programs.
Register and login to view STERIS online courses on the reprocessing of medical and surgical devices and equipment, including cleaning, disinfection and sterilization topics. Learn More... You have concerns about patient safety, department budgets and productivity, and compliance with recommended practices. 3M Infection Prevention works with you to meet the growing needs of your sterile processing department.
This online learning portal is a great resource for those interested in web-based education in Sterile Processing. Free to navigate after registration. Learn More... Advanced Sterilization Products Division of Ethicon, Inc., an industry leader in infection prevention, is dedicated to helping you work more efficiently and effectively. The STERRAD® Sterility Guide is an easy-to-use, innovative online tool designed to provide STERRAD® Systems customers with an up to date list of devices that fall within STERRAD® System claims for sterility.
Benefits of registering: Personalized experience Manage a device inventory for easy searching Access to resources such as training videos, wall charts Helpful hints and so much more! Learn More... One-Hour readout Biological Indicator for 132°C (270°F) four-minute and 135°C (275°F) three-minute Vacuum-Assisted Steam Sterilization cycles.
Benefits: Provides results in one hour. Offers 3X faster results than Attest Rapid BIs for 270°F and 275°F vacuum-assisted steam sterilization cycles. Helps deliver BI results in about the same time as it takes to cool a load. Meets ISO and FDA performance requirements for biological indicators. Contains viable organisms that provide a direct measure of lethality. Puts your instrument turnaround speed into overdrive for improved patient safety. Learn More... Welcome to Crazy4Clean!
At Crazy4Clean.com, you will find fun and educational games focused on the proper cleaning of surgical instruments. Games are a great way to learn; they simulate experiences that teach you new skills while you’re entertained! These games don’t fall short on rewards either. Instead of logging a high score, you earn rewards of real value, CEUs! Come join us and start playing, learning and earning with games like "The Adventures of TOSIman," "Return of the Clean Brothers: A Residual Mission" and more! Join in the fun of being Crazy for Clean! Learn More... On December 6, 2013, the Federal government introduced Bill C-17, Protecting Canadians from Unsafe Drugs Act (Vanessa’s Law). The proposed legislation would amend the Food and Drugs Act (Act) regarding therapeutic products to improve safety by introducing measures to (1) strengthen safety oversight of therapeutic products throughout their life cycle, and to (2) improve health care institutions’ reporting of serious adverse drug reactions and medical device incidents, among other things.
Learn More... Greetings to All I hope everyone had a great Christmas and new year holiday season! The CSAO vision shall be to provide the members of the Association and health care facilities with organized educational opportunities, professional development, a forum for information exchange and member services in response to member identified needs and priorities, and to represent members in the professional community. Visit us at http://www.csao.net/. Please let me know if you have any ideas to add to any upcoming eNewsletters. |
FMI POLL How does your facility utilize Flash Sterilization?
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