Carolyn Figueroa, Central Sterile Supply (CSS) Supervisor in the CSS department at Day Kimball Hospital won first place out of more than 100 participants in a region-wide competition that measured CSS employees’ understanding of sterilization standards and practices along with response time to daily quiz questions.

The 5-day quiz competition called the “Sterile Bowl II” was organized by 3M Medical Solutions Account Executive Phil Stolaronek in observance of Central Sterile (CS) week and tested the knowledge of CSS staff participants representing fifty plus hospitals throughout the tri-state area of CT, MA, and RI. Central sterile week was observed October 14-20 this year and recognizes committed specialists that fill CS departments and make a difference in patient care throughout the United States.

“This award speaks to Carolyn’s knowledge of central sterile best practices, and is a testament to her commitment to DKH and its patients. The department was honored to be the recipient of the Sterile Bowl II prize,” said Cheryl Petrarca, Director of Surgical Services for Day Kimball Healthcare.

"The CSS department at Day Kimball Hospital can be counted on for delivering clean and sterile instruments consistently and on time. Their ongoing due diligence and dependable equipment and process monitoring ensures that surgeries can be performed without delay," Petrarca said.

Day Kimball Hospital's CSS staff were awarded at an in-service celebratory lunch which included a pizza party and trophy presented by 3M representative Phil Stolaronek on November 8.

“Carolyn has a great deal of CS knowledge and I was happy to see the Day Kimball CS department take home the Sterile Bowl II prize," Stolaronek said. “I developed this competition to recognize the hard work of CSS departments in the region in a fun, educational way during CS week. The sterile processing department is essential to healthcare and for quality service in hospitals,” he said.

The quiz questions were based on standards and practices observed by the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) which is the primary source of consensus standards, both national and international, for the medical device industry, as well as practical information, support, and guidance for healthcare technology and sterilization professionals.