#63 IP Strategic Partnership: The Critical Role of Infection Preventionists As Advocates in Sterile Processing – Featuring Rebecca Taylor Alvino
In this special holiday edition, hosts Lerenza Howard and Kelly Holmes welcome Rebecca Taylor Alvino, a board-certified infection preventionist and perioperative nurse at UCSF Health. Rebecca shares her inspiring journey from a public health background to a focused career in surgical infection prevention. Rebecca dives into the challenges of infection control, innovative technologies, and key performance indicators that enhance productivity and minimize immediate-use steam sterilization. Rebecca offers practical advice for infection preventionists when rounding in the sterile processing department, strategies to foster collaboration, and insights regarding IPs who are considering certification in sterile processing along with appropriate competencies for SPD staff. Don't miss Rebecca's forward-looking perspective on the evolving field of sterile processing and its critical partnership with infection prevention. Hosted by: Kelly Holmes, MS, CIC, FAPIC and Lerenza Howard, MHA, CIC, LSSGB About our Guest: Rebecca Alvino, RN, MS, CNS, CIC, CNOR, CRCST, FAPIC Rebecca Taylor Alvino is a board-certified infection preventionist and perioperative nurse, experiences that serve her well in her current role as System Director of Sterile Processing at UCSF Health in San Francisco. She is active with APIC, currently serving as the President-Elect for the San Francisco Bay Area chapter and most recently co-authoring the recently released update to the APIC Text Online chapter, "Reprocessing Single-Use Devices". This episode is sponsored by Solventum.