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Show Hospital's Central Services to be honored Known as the back-up department of the hospital, Central Services will be recognized nationally during the week of Oct. 12-18. Governor Bangerter will sign a state declaration proclaiming Oct. ' 14 at State Central Services Day, in honor of their 'major contributions to hospital services. "Central Services is a very un-publicized un-publicized department, and yet ' many up-to-date medical and 1 surgical procedures performed at American Fork Hospital would not ' be possible without their services," ' explained Craig Smedley, Hospital Administrator. ; According to Betty Nichols, ad-' ad-' ministrative director of O.R. Services, Ser-vices, "Central Services is the heart of the hospital, the hub on which the - other departments revolve." The ' jblic is welcome to tour the department and to learn more about its workings. Also known as Central Processing, the department is responsible for the reprocessing and sterilization of reusable, hospital and physician office equipment. jThis state-of-the-art cleaning process makes items safe to use either on or in human tissue. Workers in the Central Processing area are educated in the fundamentals of basic microbiology and in both infection and inventory control. CP. provides all departments requiring sterile supplies with germ free, pre-packaged equipment. All case carts are set up in advance of a surgical procedure and each physician is supplied with both standard and individualized equipment and instruments. "Central Service aids and technicians must be familiar with the names and functions of hundreds hun-dreds of instruments and supplies used by the hospital. They must also be able to respond immediately to rquests for specialized equipment," said Barbara Spolts, C.S. director. 'Yjejars ago, equipment had to be re-washed and then set up again inbetween each surgery," remembered Nichols. "Delays of 30 minutes between surgeries were common as compared to the current 10 minute turnover period, made possible by Central Processing." "We are proud of the Central Services Department and its people. It is their efficient works which make it possible to provide quality, cost effective, medical services to the public," praised Smedley. |