Spring is here and with it a time of renewal. The time for spring cleaning is at hand, however, it’s become apparent that limiting exposure to various chemicals, toxins and pollutants is also important. We’ve learned much about the detrimental effects various chemicals have on our health. Many cleaning products marketed as “green,” “natural” or “eco-friendly” actually contain chemicals that are known carcinogens, endocrine-disruptors or lung and skin irritants. For instance, awareness around the negative reproductive and development effects of BPA (bisphenol A) in plastics and other unregulated chemicals like phthalates is growing, there is still a lot of work to be done to make sure that our health is protected.

Did you know that in 2009 the U.S. Congress created the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, which set aside $27 billion for an incentive program to encourage hospitals to adopt electronic health records systems (EHR). That’s right the Federal government is paying doctors and hospitals to setup and use electronic health records systems...

We’re talking about risk analysis, the process we go through before deciding on a given action. Whether its diet soda or donuts we'll do a casual risk analysis in our head. Example, someone is sharing a dozen donuts, do you want one? YES! Do you need the extra calories, fats, sugar, etc. NO! The heck with it, YOLO!...

The world is producing a record amount of single-use plastic waste, mostly made from polymers created from fossil fuels, despite global efforts to reduce plastic pollution and carbon emissions, according to a new report. While governments around the world have announced policies to reduce the volume of single-use plastic...

Ask any Sterile Processing technician about the most important first step in the decontamination process, they will always repeat this refrain “Cleaning is the most important first step, because if it’s not clean, it cannot be disinfected or sterilized.” SPD professionals have long recognized how difficult it is to clean used devices and instruments post procedure. Especially challenging are complex endoscopes, with small inner channels, valves, and ports. When left in the open-air bioburden and organic material harden...

A recent online article from CNN Health asks – “How many times can you wear pajamas, jeans, and other clothes without washing them? Experts weigh in…” Turns out that the number of times it’s appropriate to wear clothing items without washing them is based more on folklore or a person’s upbringing than professional advice. The short answer — for pajamas as well as other clothes — technically depends...

T’was the night before surgery... And all through the SPD every set was in blue wrap as far as the eye could see. The peel packs were sorted for surgery with care… In hopes that the surgeon soon would be there.

The Year Was 1924: The American car market was reaching its saturation point, when everyone who wanted and could afford a car had one. To deal with the problem of slowing sales of new cars an executive at General Motors came up with annual model-year design changes. The idea was to convince car owners to buy new cars every year, ...

1992 Trivia, History and Fun Facts: The Top Song was I Will Always Love You by Whitney Houston, Johnny Carson was host of the “Tonight Show”, Elle Macpherson was THE fashion icon, and Case Medical is started by Marcia Frieze and her husband Allan. Looking Back; a lot has changed in 30 years, the music we listen to, trends and style in fashion, even the long running “Tonight Show” has had 2 new hosts since 1992. But you know what hasn’t changed in all that time? Case Medical’s commitment to putting patients and people first with products that perform better, last longer and are more ecologically sustainable than the rest. Back in 1992, before recycling was even a thing, and global warming were two words never paired together, Case Medical was making its products from 100%...

A Global Health Emergency - Last week marked the beginning of World Antimicrobial Awareness Week. It was also a week when we learned that the virus which causes COVID-19 has continued to evolve into new subvariants. In fact, two of them have been detected in all 48 continental U.S. states. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated that Omicron subvariants BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 account for nearly half of the COVID-19...