Time is round and it rolls by quickly...

I read somewhere that "Time is round and it rolls by quickly". This week certainly rolled by fast!

My team!! I got to work with the most amazing group of individuals.

L-R: Peter, Christa, Megan, me, Karen, Debbie and Michele.

From Monday to Friday, I worked in the CSS area (or the "kitchen" as we like to call it) with other lay people on the team.  I am not sure what CSS stands for but it is where all the medical instruments are cleaned, wrapped and sterilized. Back in Canada, this process is highly automated with machines doing a lot of the work. In Quito, this is a long manual process which must be done carefully and thoroughly. Attention to detail is key. Occasionally, a whole set of instruments is returned from the OR because it was not cleaned or sterilized properly. The tiniest speck of blood or a hole in the wrapper cloth used to wrap the instrument before sterilization means the whole set is contaminated. It cannot be used and this causes delays in the OR (operation room) as a replacement set is prepared wasting everyone's time and affecting the day's OR schedule.

Step 1: Medical equipment arrives from the OR full of blood, tissue and yes, bone fragments. They must be cleaned thoroughly and sterilized before the next use. The cleaning process resembles an assembly line as each piece of instrument is passed from one person to another, first to be soaped and then rinsed three times in scalding hot water.

Video of the lay people team cleaning the instrument and having fun while doing it!

Step 2: The instruments are thoroughly dried using clean hand towels and assembled in their respective cases and sent to the wrapping room. OR nurses take a brief moments in between surgeries to inspect the instrument set, making sure no single piece is missing.

Drying instruments before wrapping for sterilization.

Different sets of surgical instruments cleaned, dried and ready to be wrapped.

Step 3: The instruments are wrapped in special cloth wrappers and prepared for a 3 hour sterilization process in the "oven". The wrappers are inspected thoroughly for holes. Holes in the wrappers compromise the sterilization process and renders the instruments unsterilized. A little indicator is slipped into the package (before wrapping) that turns colour to if the sterilization was successful. If it doesn't, the  entire process is repeated.  The wrapping room is where I spent 95% of my time.

Preparing to wrap a set of instruments.

The giant "oven" used to sterilize the instrument. Generously loaned for our use by the hospital.

The lay person role, although not a medical one, plays a critical part in ensuring the mission runs smoothly. With 6 to 8 surgeries happening a day, cleaning and sterilizing instruments is a round the clock job. At the end of the day, your feet hurt like hell but you know it's for a good reason.

In between CSS duties, Christa and I cut out name tags in the shape of hearts shapes that 

will be hung over the beds of young patients. 

Ciao!

Sandra



Fun Fact: Ecuador is home to the closest point on Earth to outer space. Mount Chimborazo has an elevation of 6,263 m (20,548 ft) and is Ecuador’s highest peak. It’s also the furthest point from the Earth’s centre due to the fact that the Earth bulges at the equator, making it the highest point on Earth and the closest point to outer space, the moon, the sun – you name it! Technically, it’s 1.5 miles / 2.4 kilometres higher than Mount Everest!

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