Sterile Processing Coordinator

University of Utah Health•Salt Lake City, UT

About The Position

The Sterile Processing Coordinator sterilizes and decontaminates surgical instruments and supplies for use in operating rooms, hospitals, and clinics. The position assembles surgical carts and tracks and maintains inventory of instruments, disposables, and implants. It monitors biological and chemical indicators to ensure the quality and consistency of sterilization. The coordinator also directs daily activities of other employees, including monitoring performance, scheduling work shifts, coordinating and conducting training and in-services, and monitoring quality control and safety processes. The role provides technical expertise in cleaning, assembling, and processing specialized instruments and medical supplies and does not provide patient care. University of Utah Health is a patient-focused organization dedicated to improving health and well-being through patient care, research, and education. The University of Utah is a Level 1 Trauma Center, with five hospitals and eleven clinics.

Requirements

At least three years of sterile processing experience.
Current qualifying certification from either HSPA (CIS, CER, or CHL) or CBSPD (CFER, CSIS, or CSPM).
Maintain HSPA certification or hold current CBSPD certification; additional license requirements may be set by the hiring department.
Demonstrated human relations and effective communication skills.
Basic knowledge of anatomy, physiology, and medical terminology.
Ability to work independently and follow written and verbal instructions.
Ability to accurately detect blood remaining on instruments before proceeding with sterilization.
Ability to perform environmental maintenance duties and help maintain inventory levels.
Ability to work and communicate with clients and customers to meet their expectations.
Ability to develop and use comprehensive knowledge of sterilizers and sterilization methods, understand supply requests and select alternatives when supplies are unavailable, and prioritize workload and requests for supplies and trays.
Ability to wear appropriate protective attire.
Ability to be on call, work weekends and holidays, and rotate shifts as needed.
Ability to meet physical requirements with or without accommodation, including lifting, carrying, pushing, pulling, standing, or walking for extended periods; the position may involve moving objects weighing up to 50 pounds.
Ability to perform the listed physical activities and sensory tasks, including climbing, crawling, reaching, manual dexterity, and vision, hearing, speaking, and other listed requirements.
Ability to work amid potential exposure to contaminated body fluids, used needles, razor blades, knives, bone shavings, glass, and other contaminants.

Responsibilities

Prepare and sterilize surgical instruments and supplies according to established procedures and techniques.
Assemble special procedure trays, surgical instrument trays, and case carts.
Deliver sterilized supplies to hospital departments and clinics and retrieve used supplies and trays.
Inspect instruments and equipment to ensure proper functioning, and facilitate replenishment of low, broken, or missing items.
Document patient charges for supplies and procedure trays.
Restock labels, maintain inventory, submit requisitions, and collect and distribute instrument trays, carts, and facility medical supplies.
Verify equipment function and confirm repair or replacement of defective equipment.
Sort instrument sets, trays, and medical equipment and make them available to sterile processing customers in a timely manner.
Assist in maintaining departmental policies and procedures, objectives, quality improvement, safety, environmental, and infection control standards.
Coordinate other employees’ daily activities, including monitoring performance, coordinating and scheduling shifts, conducting training and in-services, and monitoring quality control and safety processes.
Participate in and support continuous quality improvement activities.
Serve as a subject matter expert in sterilization methods, instrumentation, and sterilization standards.
Troubleshoot instrumentation needs for the operating room and other departments.
Serve as an expert in sterile processing database programs.
Order supplies as needed.