In this session, ECRI leadership discusses:
- Benefits of a collaborative approach to enhancing safety
- Methodology and tools employed to create measurable change
- Structure of the collaborative
Learning Collaborative
Breaking the Chain of Infection: A Systems Approach to Reusable Medical Equipment Safety
Reduce Infection Risks: Join Our Learning Collaborative
Reusable medical equipment plays a critical role in patient care—but when systems for device safety and quality assurance break down, it can become a significant source of infection risk. Breaking the Chain of Infection: A Systems Approach to Reusable Medical Equipment Safety is a five-month Infection Prevention and Control Collaborative designed to help healthcare teams reduce these risks by strengthening cross-disciplinary systems for medical equipment safety.
ECRI and the ISMP Patient Safety Organization (PSO) experts will guide participants through targeted education and hands-on, real‑world practice. Throughout the program, participants will develop the skills needed to identify vulnerabilities, strengthen quality assurance processes, and implement a measurable improvement project aimed at reducing infection risks associated with reusable medical equipment.
Watch the Informational Session
Take advantage of this opportunity to work collaboratively alongside both subject matter experts and peers in order to identify and implement strategies that enhance systems for medical equipment safety.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this five-month collaborative, participants will be able to:
1
Conduct comprehensive medical equipment risk assessments
to identify potential sources of healthcare-associated infections and implement targeted mitigation strategies through interdisciplinary collaboration.
2
Evaluate and strengthen quality assurance processes
related to medical equipment procurement, maintenance, and reprocessing to prevent the use of devices that could compromise patient safety.
3
Assess and improve interdisciplinary communication systems and workflows
involving Infection Prevention, Risk Management, Biomedical Engineering, Sterile Processing, Supply Chain, and other stakeholders to ensure consistent and reliable equipment safety practices.
4
Design and implement a quality improvement project
that addresses a specific medical equipment–related infection risk, using standardized tools, collaborative team structures, and measurable outcome metrics to demonstrate impact on patient safety.
Who Should Participate
This collaborative is designed for interdisciplinary healthcare professionals involved in the use, management, reprocessing, oversight, or safety of reusable medical equipment, including:
Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) professionals
Biomedical engineers and clinical engineering staff
Nurses and physicians
Sterile processing department
Environmental service staff
Quality, patient safety, and risk management professionals
Supply chain
Facilities management professionals
Organizations across the continuum of care including hospitals, health systems, senior care services providers, ambulatory and surgery centers, post-acute care facilities, and home health providers are encouraged to participate.
Benefits of Participation
Learn
Build the knowledge and skills needed to identify and mitigate infection risks associated with reusable medical equipment by strengthening risk assessment, quality assurance, and cross-disciplinary communication systems.
Share
Engage in facilitated, safe-table discussions with peers to exchange experiences, challenges, and lessons learned related to medical device safety and quality assurance.
Improve
Apply a proven framework of performance improvement tools and resources to develop and execute a focused improvement project with strong, reliable action plans and measurable outcomes.
Continuing Education
This activity has been approved for 1.0 California State Nursing contact hours by the provider, Debora Simmons, who is approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider Number CEP 13677.
This live webinar activity has been approved for 1 CE through the Healthcare Sterile Processing Association.
This live webinar activity has been approved for 1 IPU by the Certification Board of Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. (CBIC)
Participation Requirements
Participation is open to healthcare organizations across care settings, including health systems, hospitals, aging services providers, ambulatory care facilities, surgery centers, post-acute care facilities, and home health providers. Interdisciplinary team participation is strongly encouraged to maximize impact and sustainability.
"This process was excellent and allowed our team to assess our current program and learn best practices from others."
- Previous Collaborative Participant
Cost
- $3,000 USD per organization for up to 5-person team
- $6,000 USD per organization for up to 10-person team
- $15,000 USD per organization for up to 30-person team
Discounts available for existing ECRI and the ISMP PSO members
Participation Time Frame
- March 2026 through July 2026
Learn More
Contact us to learn how to join the Breaking the Chain of Infection: A Systems Approach to Reusable Medical Equipment Safety Learning Collaborative.
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