Case study

How to Revitalize Surgical Support: From Frustration to Trust

Restoring Trust, Elevating Quality, and Empowering Surgical Readiness Across 25 Facilities.

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Challenge
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Approach
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Findings
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Impact
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Overview

In August 2024, ASSI conducted a comprehensive Clinical Assessment for a Southwest U.S. hospital system spanning 25 locations, including 8 SPDs, 8 endoscopy suites, and 9 clinics. The engagement focused on evaluating sterile processing operations, identifying improvement opportunities, and fostering collaboration between SPD and OR teams. ASSI was retained for ongoing consulting and education to drive sustained quality and operational excellence.

Client

Large Hospital System

Year

August 2024

Region
Phoenix, Arizona
Solutions provided
  • Clinical assessment
  • Instrument Quality Assessment
  • Turnover Efficiency Solutions
  • Implemented Shared Dashboards for real-time monitoring
  • Established daily huddles tied to OR schedules
  • Loaner Tray Workflow
  • Ongoing Consulting

”It was such a pleasure having you meet with the OR and SPD leadership team during the Clinical Assessment. Putting names to faces really helped us start building a strong, collaborative relationship. We’re genuinely excited about working together and feel confident that we’re in great hands.

- Director of Infection Prevention and ISO Operations, Enterprise Infection Prevention Program

The challenge

The combination of workflow inefficiencies, substandard quality control, and eroded trust prompted C-suite leaders to seek a partner capable of delivering immediate stabilization and long-term operational improvement.

Surgeon & OR Staff Complaints

Instruments often arrived in poor condition, with frequent tray assembly errors, missing items, and unreliable configurations.

Surgical Delays & Shortages

Routine processing delays and instrument shortages impacted surgical readiness.

Infection Risk Concerns

OR staff reported visible bioburden and questioned instrument cleanliness, creating patient safety concerns.

Breakdown in Trust

The lack of effective quality controls, communication, and problem-solving processes deepened the rift between SPD and OR teams.

Our approach

Advantage Support Services mobilized a specialized team to conduct a full clinical and operational assessment of the Sterile Processing Department (SPD). Our intervention focused on stabilizing daily operations, restoring trust with the Operating Room, and building the foundation for long-term quality improvement.

Key actions included:

  • A full analysis of instrument quality issue root causes and opportunities for repair improvements.
  • Recommendations for improved tray accuracy and assembly redesign.
  • Strategic solutions for increased instrument availability and improved turnover efficiency.
  • Introduced same-day reprocessing prioritization strategies based on the surgical schedule. Shared tray tracking dashboards to ensure timely turnover and visibility of
    critical sets across shifts.
  • Mapped out an updated workflow for vendor loaned tray check-in, including bioburden inspection, documentation of condition upon arrival, and accountability for compliance with facility policy.
  • Proposed a Quality Program Infrastructure Reboot
  • Endorsed daily huddles and report-outs tied to OR schedules.
  • Facilitated collaborative rounding between SPD leaders and OR clinicians to promote transparency and shared problem-solving.

Findings

Assessment results

Client satisfaction survey results

Instrument quality
1.8
Bioburden Frequency
2.8
Tray Accuracy
1.9
Instrument availability
2.2
Case cart quality
2.5
Case cart completion
3.0
Tray turnover efficiency
2.7

Assessment outcomes

92
Compliance dangers
238
Improvement opportunities
462
Meets standards
60
Best practices

Average department grade

Lowest
61.97
Average
84.7
Highest
98.7

Impact

  1. Improved first-case and following case on-time procedural readiness from 83% to 100%
  2. Reduced instrument-related case delays by 57%
  3. Decreased O.R. Reactive rejections for missing, incomplete, or unavailable instrumentation
  4. Developed a School of Sterile Processing and HLD. Lowered overtime hours by 82% while reducing week-over-week payroll by 24%, while maintaining 100% service coverage.
  5. Improved vendor/loaner tray readiness and release compliance from 68% to 100%
  6. Reduced tray defects/bioburden/missing instruments/assembly errors by 99.79% from 17% to 0.03%

 

Overall Engagement Outcomes

  • Stabilized surgical support operations and improved service reliability
  • Protected the procedural schedule through better instrument readiness
  • Reduced avoidable delays, rework, and escalation
  • Increased visibility into performance through transparent sharing and posting of KPI monitors and action planning
  • Left behind sustainable systems rather than temporary short-term fixes

Helping services with integrity and care

25
Years of expertise
100
Facility assessments
1000
Staff ready

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