3. Purchased Necessary Equipment for Robotic System
During the tracking system installation, I was walking from the cafeteria when the hospital Chief Financial Officer met me. He said, “Hey Steve, I have some great news for you. I just approved all the paperwork to purchase all needed equipment for our Robotic system. I need you to have all of the equipment ordered and ready to go by the middle of December.”
I remember thinking to myself, “That’s good news? We aren’t even finished with the tracking system yet!” This was great news as Fairfield Medical was one of the last hospitals in the area to offer robotic surgery. Another challenge presented itself, and the Central Sterile Department accepted the challenge and exceeded expectations again.
As a team, we had to review and obtain quotes for new Sterrad equipment, a new Sonic Washer, and a new sink that would allow us to clean all of these robotic pieces. By December 25, all of these items were delivered and installed. However, this time was just the beginning of preparing for this new system. Next came ordering robotic arms containers, reviewing instrument sets, and adding all of this to our instrument tracking system. We were getting a little tired and just wanted to enjoy the holiday season. But, the team worked through it and was able to obtain everything we needed to start, except for one thing — training the staff on how the equipment and robotic pieces are cleaned and processed.
4. Completed the First Successful Robotic Surgery and Obtained the New ION Robotic System
By January 5, we completed our first successful robotic procedure, processing the instrumentation without error. We continue to process these instruments with no issues as our case volume grows.
Nearly two and a half months later, we thought we had overcome the training and implementation of the TD-100 TEE Probe installation and the Xi Robotic System. Now, it was time to take a step back to reflect and relax for a moment. However, that wasn’t the case as we were instructed to begin preparing for the new ION Robotic System. Fairfield Medical would be one of three hospitals in Ohio to have this system. How rewarding for Fairfield Medical Center and the community, knowing they now can detect lung cancer in its early stage, making cancer more treatable!
This meant ordering equipment and educating and training staff on the proper cleaning of this equipment. We installed another system, 1E, which we had removed due to lack of use and all of the other equipment needed to process these items. We met that challenge by January 7, when we had our first three cases. We trained our staff on the proper cleaning and processing of these items and are now ready to have the ION items ready when needed successfully.
Fairfield Medical Center Makes Notable Accomplishments
These are extraordinary accomplishments for our team at Fairfield Medical Center. Even more impressive was that the team worked with only 10 of the 16 staff members needed to run the department due to staffing challenges, as many other organizations were facing.
The extended overtime that staff members volunteered to work, the extra shifts they picked up, and the dedication to patient safety that this team has made us so successful. I don’t doubt that our customers within the hospital and the Fairfield County community are receiving the highest quality surgery from a sterile processing standpoint. I truly love this team and the accomplishments that we have achieved over the last six months!