of staff "Knowledegeable" or "Very Knowledgable" —↑ from 46%
of staff "Confident" or "Very Confident" —↑ from 59%
certificates awarded to 216 users over first 8 months
Background
OhioHealth is a nationally recognized, not-for-profit health system based in Columbus, Ohio. Faced with growing surgical demand, increasing technical and regulatory requirements, and limited preceptor capacity, OhioHealth leadership identified their SPD orientation and continuing education as a strategic opportunity for innovation, leading them to partner with Incision in July 2024.
The goal of the partnership was to implement a scalable, high-quality learning and orientation program to standardize best practices across 13 hospital SPDs over the OhioHealth system, increase new technician confidence, accelerate competency development, and ease the burden on preceptors and experienced staff. Longer-term aims were to increase certification, demonstrate regulatory compliance for audits and surveillance, and reduce error rates—supporting the safe, efficient delivery of reprocessing services across the system.
Change
Between August 2024 and March 2025, 216 OhioHealth users enrolled in the 22-course program. Data-driven implementation, led by local leadership in collaboration with Incision's Customer Success Team, resulted in strong staff engagement and high levels of usage—with over 3,500 certificates issued during the first eight months of use.
Across all sites, more than 70% of registered users have completed the full program at the time of writing, with an average of >430 certificates issued per month. OhioHealth staff earned 1714 HSPA and CBSPD-approved continuing education credits from completing these courses. These data demonstrate a clear and sustained pattern of staff engagement with the program, reflected in strong uptake and consistent usage across all SPD sites.
Impact
To measure impact, staff completed surveys before (T0) and six months after (T1) implementation. Using a 5-point Likert scale, 80 SPD respondents across all 13 sites self-assessed their knowledge and confidence across six core sterile processing competency areas. Results showed significant improvements across all areas and all experience levels.
The percentage of staff rating themselves as “Knowledgeable” or “Very Knowledgeable” increased by 41 percentage points, almost doubling from 46% to 87%.
The percentage of staff rating themselves as “Confident” or “Very Confident” increased by 29 percentage points, from 59% to 88%.
Gains were seen across both early-career and more experienced staff, demonstrating value not only for orientation but also in continuing professional development.
The results achieved showcase a clear positive impact across OhioHealth’s SPD workforce, highlighting the value of a data-driven, quality-assured approach to orientation and continuous learning that can be quickly and cost-efficiently implemented and scaled by healthcare systems.
