Nupur Jain of Intuitive Surgical joins Below the Hospital host Garland-Rhea Grisby Sr. to discuss surgical robotics, manufacturer instructions for use, and patient safety. Editor’s Note: This episode was recorded during the 2025 celebration of Sterile Processing Week. A special thanks to everyone who works within, or below, the hospital to keep patients safe and healthy.
ANSI/AAMI ST79, the standard that provides guidance on steam sterilization and sterility assurance, is being revised! Below the Hospital host Garland-Rhea Grisby catches up with Mary Ann Drosnock, co-chair of the working group responsible for the revision.
Find out why the standard is being updated, how sterile processing professionals are key to the process, and how you can help!
Show Notes:
1. AAMI appoints new co-chairs to sterilization standards groups: https://array.aami.org/content/news/aami-appoints-new-co-chairs-sterilization-standards-groups
According to Sherah Bateman, infection control is your friend in the SPD. Join her and Below the Hospital host Garland-Rhea Grisby Sr. as they discuss healthcare-acquired infections, staying survey-ready, and what infection control and prevention staffers look for when they enter your sterile processing department.
You probably already use standards in your work in sterile processing. But do you have questions about how standards and how they are meant to be used?
AAMI VP of Sterilization Amanda Benedict joins host Garland-Rhea Grisby Sr. to talk about how standards are made, what they can and cannot do, and how standards can provide a step up for sterile processing professionals.
Cori Ofstead of Ofstead and Associates joins us to discuss her research paper “Impact of Borescope Inspections on Endoscope Repair Frequency and Costs.”
This landmark research shows the correlation of using borescopes to inspect endoscopes with cost and time savings. Inspections were also found to support the quality of patient care, as they allowed SPD staff to discover issues before they became a threat.
Show Notes:
1. Cori Ofstead, Abigail Smart, Larry Lamb, Frank Daniels, Impact of Borescope Inspections on Endoscope Repair Frequency and Costs https://array.aami.org/doi/10.2345/0899-8205-58.4.88
VCU Health just finished its 200,000th borescope inspection. Frank Daniels of VCU Health joins Below the Hospital host Garland-Rhea Grisby Sr. how he founded VCU’s high-level disinfection unit, how the unit has implemented borescope inspections, and how continuous improvement and rigorous training keep the program focused on patient safety.
“I’m seeing something, what is it?” This is the most common question Andy Sundet of Clarus Medical gets from SPD professionals who use borescopes. Andy just joined Below the Hospital host Garland-Rhea Grisby to talk about what it takes to make sure your borescope program is safe, effective, and ultimately helps patients. References: 1. Clarus Medical: https://clarus-medical.com/2. Clarus Medical LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/clarus-medical-llc3. Andy Sundet profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewsundet
“We’re allies, not auditors.”
Melinda Benedict, Director of Infection Prevention & Control at Olympus, joins Below the Hospital host Garland-Rhea Grisby Sr. to discuss the infection preventionist’s perspective and how they can make your life easier.
Join them for a spirited discussion on how infection prevention's role in the SPD, plus an in-depth update on endoscope reprocessing, IFU use, and a forthcoming standard on sampling and culturing of flexible endoscopes.
“Hey just take this up the street.” Transporting medical devices before or after sterilization is more and more common, but how do you do it correctly?
Horlando Cintron, Manager of Perioperative Support Services at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, joins host Garland Grisby to discuss best practices, some war stories, and how AAMI TIR109:2025; External transport of reusable medical devices for processing can help in your workplace.
Show Notes:
1. AAMI TIR109:2025; External transport of reusable medical devices for processing: https://array.aami.org/doi/book/10.2345/9781570209048
AAMI recently updated ST58, our guidance document on chemical sterilization and high-level sterilization in health care facilities.
To understand what this means for you in the sterile processing department, Garland-Rhea Grisby spoke to Alpa Patel, Director of Scientific Improvement at Nelson Labs. Find out how the standard has changed, and what it means for training, quality control, and using sterilization modalities like ethylene oxide.
Show Notes:
1. ANSI/AAMI ST58:2024; Chemical sterilization andhigh-level disinfection in health care facilities: https://array.aami.org/doi/book/10.2345/9781570208799
What happens when tattoo equipment ends up in the SPD? Jennifer Greisen of Aesculap and Adam Okada of Healthmark join Garland to discuss the wild west of processing the tools used for medical tattooing.
There isn’t much official guidance. But Greisen and Okada are convening sterile processing professionals, tattoo device manufacturers, and tattoo artists to provide the first-ever AAMI guidance on this subject.
Tim Hurtado of El Camino Health joins Garland to discuss how the sterile processing department (SPD) can work with clinical and non-clinical partners. If you’ve ever faced staffing shortages, issues with vendors, or siloing within your health facility, check out this episode to learn some best practices for managing these issues and relationships.
How do sterile processing staff interact with surgery centers in hospitals? Tori Ruiz, Area Director of Sterile Processing at Sutter Health, joins host Garland-Rhea Grisby to talk about visibility, collaboration, and “going back to basics.”
Join them to learn how hospital departments can work together to keep patients safe and why in-house education is vital.
What do you need to know about water quality in the sterile processing department? Dr. Terra Kremer, Director of Microbiological Quality at Johnson & Johnson, joins Garland to discuss water quality, keeping devices safe, and why listening to end users is a key part of developing procedures and implementing standards.
Plus, tips on applying ANSI/AAMI ST108 in your SPD and newinformation on forthcoming water quality guidance!
Show Notes:
1. ANSI/AAMI ST108: https://array.aami.org/doi/book/10.2345/9781570208737
Garland interviews Malinda Elammari of Healthmark about clinical education for sterile processing professionals.
Tune in to hear about what works, what doesn’t, and how education can take your career and the sterile processing field to the next level.
Implementing manufacturer instruction for use (IFUs) is often a challenge. Dr. Atila Nozari of Solventum joins Garland-Rhea Grisby to discuss how IFUs are made, and how to make them better.
If you’ve ever looked at an IFU and said, “Who wrote this?” this episode is for you!
Below the Hospital is a new podcast from the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) about sterile processing. Hosted by Garland-Rhea Grisby of Kaiser Permanente, Below the Hospital examines what challenges sterile processing professionals face and how to deal with them.
Join us every two weeks as Garland interviews folks from around the field!