Do you know what’s hiding in your tap water? Is it hard, soft, iron rich, or smelly like rotten eggs? How does water quality affect cleaning chemistries, and what can be done about it? And how can high purity water contribute to more effective cleaning? Certainly, water is important for the final rinse, but what about in the formulation of the cleaning agent itself and in the cleaning stages of instrument processing?...

Last week’s episode ended with a cliffhanger, we promised more on the critical parameters for detergent selection, sustainability, and the science of cleaning, how instrument chemistries are formulated for safety and effectiveness, and which cycles are best for automated cleaning.

Daytime TV serials are often called “soap operas” because laundry and dish detergent manufacturers have long been sponsors. The “opera” part is full of drama, passion, a plot where pressure is applied to force a decision, one which the victim was sorry to have agreed to in the first place. Just as “soap operas” use persuasive words, exaggerated statements, and even threats, to cancel out sound judgment or scientific principles...

Sustainability is a topic that continues to gain attention in light of climate change and as a healthcare goal. Healthcare can both contribute to the problem and can be at the forefront of change. This week’s blog is a preview of our educational program scheduled for this Thursday. In fact if US healthcare were a nation, it would rank 13th in the world for greenhouse gas emissions? Yet many facilities are developing sustainability programs and discovering how even small changes can have big results. If you want to learn more about this critical subject...

READ MORE

Are we alone in the universe?

We may find the answer in the next decade or two relying on clues which science provides to help us find the way.  This includes balancing what we understand about our planet and recognizing what we know are the critical elements for life. 

Next month, the launch of the Webb telescope might give us the means to discover whether we find another earth out there, a Planet B.  The search for Planet B is complicated. Nevertheless we know that even in its most extreme conditions, life is carbon based, liquid water is the solvent for biochemistry, and DNA is the code for genetic information. The building blocks for life, hydrogen, oxygen and carbon are found abundantly in the universe. So what does this have to do with Sterile Processing?

READ MORE

Every year, we have greater appreciation of our place in the healthcare industry and more incentive to expand the impact of Case Medical’s corporate sustainability efforts....

Cleaning is the critical first step that can make or break the efficacy of instrument reprocessing. Yet, we’re reminded again and again of the ways cleaning can go off the rails. Today we’re sharing a true story of the SPD, with a side-by-side comparison that demonstrates the concept of “Caveat emptor,” also known as “Let the buyer beware.”...