With 557,014,072 cases world wide and 88,847,699 cases in the U.S. alone, COVID19 is far from over.

The new variants raise questions… BA.4 and BA.5 are the fastest-spreading COVID-19 subvariants yet. The two latest versions of omicron appear to evade protection from vaccines and previous infections more easily than any others before.

Believe it or not many facilities are still wrapping instrument sets. A torn wrapped tray can be detrimental to the OR schedule and to patients. Recently, a customer informed us that a U.S. veteran was scheduled to have surgery. The patient commuted with his family several hours to the large metropolitan hospital where surgery was scheduled, taking time off work and paying for hotel accommodations in the area.

Tips to help you stay current for your professional career and personal growth. As a healthcare professional you’ve already made an investment of time and money into your career. Take a moment to reflect on your hard work and commitment, now congratulate yourself, you have accomplished a tremendous amount. But it doesn’t end there, according to CBSPD and HSPA, “the continuous renewal of certifications is crucial.” Here is how we can help...

Gels can preserve tissue and bioburden under a tough to remove clear coating. Jurassic Park, the book and movie was based on the notion that mosquitos were so well persevered in amber that dinosaur DNA could be recovered after millions of years. Well, pre-cleaning gels work much the same way, after a short time a sticky skin forms on the gel, trapping the debris beneath and becoming virtually impervious to cleaning. Enter the pre-cleaning gel, easy to use, and convenient, made to prevent soil from drying onto used instruments; is it wet or just an illusion?

Sponges may not be the best way to pre-treat endoscopes at patient’s bedside. There are 54 billion bacterial cells on a single cubic centimeter of the average kitchen sponge. They are breeding grounds for all types of germs and bacteria. A common sponge’s spatial partitioning – the way it’s divided into different sectors of various sizes – caters to bacteria that prefer isolated environments and those that prefer to be around other organisms as well, making it the best of both worlds for microbial communities.

Toxic anterior segment syndrome (TASS) is an acute, noninfectious inflammation of the eye, it is a complication of cataract extraction surgery. One thing is clear there is no one cause of TASS. Did you know that there are so many possible causes of TASS that the CDC sums it up this way: “… most cases (of TASS) are attributed to 1) contaminants on surgical instruments, resulting from improper or insufficient cleaning; 2) products introduced into the eye during surgery, such as irrigating solutions or ophthalmic medications; or 3) other substances that enter the eye during or after surgery, such as topical ointments or talc from surgical gloves. So why are so many folks in charge of processing ophthalmic instruments reluctant to use enzymatic cleaners or any detergent at all?

Join us tomorrow for an inside look at what it takes to manage an SPD, we'll discuss critical aspects of the job including; the role of the manager, effective coaching, quality assurance and continuous improvement, are some of the topics. Case Medical presents this as a free online experience, part of our ongoing commitment to better outcomes for patients and staff. There will be two sessions offered at 11:00 am EDT, and again at 6:00 pm EDT.

Some are… Some aren’t. Single use wipes have become very popular for cleaning surfaces, wiping baby butts, for personal care, and throughout healthcare facilities for numerous purposes. Afterall, they are convenient, easy to use, single use, and come in a handy package.

Everyday seems to bring a new natural disaster or calamity, wildfires burning up New Mexico, western reservoirs drained to their lowest levels ever, extreme weather, flooding and landslides around the globe, can it get any worse? In a word, YES, yes it can if we don’t also stop poisoning ourselves with chemicals and products toxic to both humans and the environment.

Increasingly, fresh water is becoming harder and harder to come by, especially in America’s Southwest. And what are folks in healthcare and industry doing to alleviate the problem?