Sterile Processing

Rice University students and their mentors have created a sterilization station for surgical instruments that can help minimize risk of infections to patients anywhere in the world.

The human microbiome, a diverse collection of microorganisms living inside us and on our skin, has attracted considerable attention for its role in a broad range of human health issues. Now, researchers are discovering that the built environment also has a microbiome, which includes a community of potentially-pathogenic bacteria living inside water supply pipes.

At the two hospitals where I work, the sterile processing departments (SPDs) are located in the basement and near the morgue. To think that people are literally dying to be closer to the SPD is a unique feature that not just any hospital department can claim!