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International Central Service Week

Got a hip replacement? Had minor surgery? Thank the people who process the tools -- it's their special week

By Billie Owens

Press release:

Central Service professionals are being celebrated for their important role and commitment to patient safety during the annual International Central Service Week, Oct. 11 - 17.

At almost every facility where surgical procedures are performed -- such as United Memorial Medical Center -- there is a highly skilled group of people that are often overlooked and almost never thanked! They are the behind the scenes people, the people that the patient never meets. The people that reprocess and prepare hundreds, if not thousands, of pieces of reusable medical instruments and devices.

Central Service is the heart of the hospital, because without them they could not operate. Without Sterile Instruments surgeons, nurses and scrub techs (these are also the people that do get thanked) would just be people standing around with gloves on. We put the tools in their hands!

Central Service professionals are integral members of the health care team who are responsible for decontaminating, inspecting, assembling, disassembling, packaging, and sterilizing reusable surgical instruments or devices in a health care facility that are essential for patient safety.

If you or someone you love has undergone a surgical procedure, a central service professional was directly responsible for the cleaning and sterilization of the instruments used throughout your operation.

Please join us in honoring these dedicated professionals!

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