Articles Healthcare
Unannounced surveys are no longer the exception in healthcare—they’re the norm. Accrediting bodies increasingly expect sterile processing departments (SPDs) to demonstrate consistent compliance, real-time documentation, and reliable adherence to manufacturers’ instructions for use on any given day, not just during audit season. Joint Commission survey data continue to show that high-level disinfection and sterilization practices…
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Articles Healthcare
How Predictive AI Is Helping Hospitals Anticipate Admissions and Optimize Emergency Department Throughput
Emergency departments across the U.S. are under unprecedented strain, with overcrowding, staffing shortages, and inpatient bed constraints converging into a throughput crisis. The American Hospital Association reports that hospital capacity and workforce growth have lagged, intensifying delays from arrival to disposition. At the same time, advances in artificial intelligence are moving from experimental to operational—raising…
Articles Healthcare
Caregiver Engagement Is the Missing Link in Dementia Care: Why Empowering Families Drives Better Outcomes and Lower Costs
Dementia is becoming one of healthcare’s most difficult problems to ignore. As the population ages, more families are finding themselves responsible for loved ones who can no longer manage their own care, communicate symptoms clearly, or navigate the healthcare system. Research shows that people living with dementia are hospitalized far more often than those without it—even…
Articles Healthcare
Getting SPD Teams to the Table: Why Sterile Processing Deserves a Central Role in Surgical Planning and Operations
Sterile Processing Departments (SPDs) remain the backbone of safe surgical care, yet across the country, they’re still routinely left out of early decision-making around products, construction, staffing, and case planning. As hospitals juggle tighter margins, higher patient acuity, and growing procedural demands, the consequences of excluding SPD voices become unmistakably real—showing up in daily…
Articles Healthcare
The Silent Foundation of Patient Safety: Why Water Quality Matters in Sterile Processing
In healthcare, patient safety and operational efficiency often depend on invisible systems working perfectly in the background. One of those systems—water quality—has quietly become a defining factor in sterile processing success. With new standards such as AAMI ST108 setting stricter expectations, hospitals, and SPDs (Sterile Processing Departments) are rethinking how they monitor, manage, and measure…
Articles Healthcare
The SPD Hack Playbook: Streamlining Sterile Processing with Smart Tech and Team Buy-In
Sterile Processing Departments (SPDs) are the unsung backbone of surgical care — ensuring every instrument, tray, and tool is safe, sterile, and ready when needed. Yet, despite their vital role, SPD workflows often rely on manual processes and underrecognized best practices. As healthcare systems push for greater efficiency and staff well-being, SPD managers are turning…
Articles Healthcare
Hot Takes on Rural Healthcare: Lessons from the Frontlines of a System in Decline
Across America, rural hospitals are facing an existential crisis. From physician burnout and recruitment struggles to malpractice insurance woes and shrinking OB units, the challenges facing small health systems are multiplying. According to the National Rural Health Association, roughly 190 rural hospitals have closed down or discontinued inpatient care since 2010 — and many more…
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Why Treating Everyone the Same Is Hurting Your Team
For years, management best practices emphasized uniformity: standard processes, standardized expectations, and treating everyone the same in the name of fairness. But today’s workforce looks very different than it did in the late 1990s and early 2000s. With multi-generational teams, shifting attitudes toward work-life balance, and an increased focus on emotional intelligence, leaders are…
Corporate Heartbeat: The Win-Win of Giving Back
Corporate giving is increasingly viewed as part of local economic infrastructure—not discretionary generosity. In the U.S., 13.7% of households experienced food insecurity in 2024, impacting millions of working families and signaling stress within regional labor markets. As cost-of-living pressures persist and metro regions like North Texas continue to grow rapidly, business leaders are reassessing…
Crafted Journey How To: Setting Scope, Saving Sanity, and Protecting Long-Term Client Value
The independent workforce continues to grow, with professionals increasingly choosing solo and fractional paths over traditional employment. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that independent contractors now represent 11.9 million workers, or about 7.4% of total U.S. employment. Without the structural guardrails of traditional roles, independent professionals must define scope, success, and boundaries…
Beyond Drills: Building a Culture of Safety in Schools
School Safety Today podcast, presented by Raptor Technologies. In this episode of Principals of Change, host Dr. Amy Grosso sits down with Jeff Bryant, Principal of Jefferson Middle School, and David Sally, Associate Principal of West Aurora High School, to explore how effective school safety goes far beyond drills and locked doors. Drawing on…
