UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora has had its immediate jeopardy warning removed following changes to its sterile processing department, The Colorado Sun reported Oct. 16.
In July, some elective surgeries were postponed due to insufficient staffing levels within the sterile processing department. The Colorado Department of Public Health opened a “complaint investigation” at the hospital. Investigators found a backlog of hundreds of surgical tool trays awaiting sanitization. Many were left open to the air and heavily soiled with dried blood and tissue for up to six days, a technician told investigators.
“Delayed reprocessing of contaminated surgical instruments caused biofilm formation and resulted in less effective disinfection and sterilization,” an inspector wrote.
No patient harm or infections resulted from the sterilization issues, according to the hospital. However, it was issued an immediate jeopardy warning, which was later lifted on July 25. Canceled procedures were rescheduled, and operations resumed as normal on July 29.
The backlog was linked to the opening of several new operating rooms this spring which overwhelmed staffing. A UCHealth report showed that the sterile processing department required 65.2 full-time equivalent employees, but once the new rooms had opened, that figure had risen to 85.2 FTE. This created a shortage amid increased surgical schedules.
“Over the summer, the sterile processing department (SPD) at UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital experienced a staffing challenge that temporarily reduced operational capacity,” UCHealth spokesperson Kelli Christensen told Becker’s. “During that time, we postponed some elective procedures to ensure patient safety and worked closely with CDPHE to implement changes to return SPD to full capacity.”
The department has now grown to 140 FTEs, she said.
State investigators returned to the hospital in September and found all problems had been fixed.
“CDPHE recently conducted a follow-up survey and confirmed that our SPD team is performing well, meeting all regulatory requirements for decontaminating, cleaning and sterilizing equipment,” Ms. Christensen said. “Their findings affirmed that our processes are safe, effective and aligned with the highest standards of patient care. All patients whose procedures were postponed have been rescheduled and the majority of those surgeries have now taken place. We are grateful to our patients for their flexibility and understanding during this issue and we appreciate the partnership of CDPHE in helping us maintain the highest standards of care.”
