Happy MDRD Week!
When our medical staff pick up an instrument, tool or piece of equipment, they know that it is safe and always at the ready for patient care thanks to St. Mary’s Medical Device Reprocessing Department (MDRD) team. In honour of MDRD Week October 9-15, we’re shining a spotlight on our MDRD team in recognition of their dedication to ensuring that staff have the tools that they need to support patient care at St. Mary’s.
Infection prevention and control is foundational to the activities that this team performs moving quietly behind the scenes. Their role puts a focus on patient safety and quality through the proper reprocessing of reusable patient care tools and equipment. Our MDRD is comprised of 25 team members who work together to decontaminate, sterilize, sort, inspect and distribute instruments and medical equipment working closely with the OR.
“Our team services almost every unit in the hospital from the basement to the roof top, although the majority of our work comes from the Operating Room and Endoscopy,” says Kaitlyn Lajoie, Assistant Program Manager, MDRD. “We work in a high-paced challenging environment and have a wide range of roles from restocking patient units with clean supplies to sterilization and biologically testing our sterilization equipment.”
Providing patients with the care that they need means having the tools that our staff need to perform services and procedures that have gone through the most rigorous of cleaning and testing.
“In the past few years, we have taken on reprocessing of probes and scopes from other units to align with the Canadian Standards and have a central reprocessing/sterilization unit,” says Kaitlyn. “We are also expecting a new Cart Washer at the end of the year which is a huge win for us!”
Next time you pick up an instrument, tool or piece of equipment, remember the invaluable work of our MDRD team for ensuring that it was there when you needed it and you know it is safe to use.
Thank you to the MDRD team for all that you do to support patient care and for always going above and beyond! You play an important role in the safety of our staff and patients in the hospital. Happy MDR week!