A strong team of Sterile Processing and Distribution (SPD also known as ‘central processing’) Technicians are behind every successful surgery. These techs are vital to the operations of every hospital, earning the SPD Department the affectionate nickname “The Heart of the Hospital.”
SPD Techs are the main line of defense against disease in hospitals. They are directly responsible for some of the greatest leaps in patient care by preventing hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) and reducing the spread of disease to both patients and healthcare workers. In this sense, the SPD Department acts more like a liver or kidneys, filtering out harmful substances and reintroducing the instruments into hospital use. Thanks to SPD Techs, we don’t need to worry about contracting a bloodborne illness after surgery and we have a sense of security knowing that any instruments that are used have been professionally sterilized.
In addition to ensuring patient and worker safety, the SPD department is responsible for distributing medical instruments throughout the hospital for use. This is where you can really see where the department gets its nickname. Just like the heart, the SPD department directs the flow of instruments, it takes them in and redistributes them wherever they’re needed so that the hospital can continue functioning. By managing the cycle of instruments going in and out, SPD techs decrease operating room turnaround times and allow for more operations to happen at a faster rate.
SPD Techs are also crucial for reducing waste and costs in a hospital by enabling the safe reuse of instruments. Without a functioning SPD department, facilities would be forced to rely on fully disposable ones. In this scenario, the amount of hospital waste would skyrocket along with costs to haul it away and replace disposable instruments. In the worst case, facilities resort to using improperly cleaned or sterilized equipment which inevitably results in cross-contamination and hospital-acquired infections.
SPD or central processing is a highly impactful department which aids in promoting safety, maximizing operational capacity, and reducing waste and costs to the hospital. Everything that happens in a hospital is impacted by the SPD techs that work there, though the techs may never actually see these impacts for themselves.
If you’re interested in Sterile Processing, Altamont Healthcare offers a Sterile Processing & Distribution Technician program available in Stockton and Bakersfield. Our flexible schedules combined with the online/in-person hybrid format makes it easier than ever to find a class that works for you. Call us at 209-817-8035 (Stockton) or 661-230-6316 (Bakersfield) to learn more!
