Central Sterile Processing Supervisor

Description:

Brattleboro Memorial Hospital /

Southern Vermont Health Services Corporation

Job Description

Job Title: Central Sterile Processing Supervisor

Job Code: 4844

Hours: 8 hour days with variable start times (6:30am-8:30am) depending on volume of patients

FTE: 1.0

Weekend Schedule: On call rotation

Holiday Schedule: On call rotation

Call Schedule: Rotating

FLSA Status: Non-exempt

Department Name: Nursing Resources Department (9050)

Location: Brattleboro, Vermont

Position Summary

The Central Sterile Processing Supervisor is an hourly, non-exempt working supervisor responsible for the day-to-day leadership, quality, safety, and operational performance of Central Sterile Processing (CSP). The role combines hands-on sterile processing with direct supervisory accountability for staff, workflow, competency, compliance, and surgical support.

The Supervisor works alongside CSP staff and remains fully competent in all areas of sterile processing, including decontamination, assembly, sterilization, storage, endoscope reprocessing, case picking, and vendor/loaner instrumentation. The Supervisor directs daily operations and collaborates with the OR, Materials Management, surgical offices, vendors, and Perioperative leadership to ensure instrumentation is safely processed and available for surgical care.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Serve as the frontline supervisor for Central Sterile Processing staff and provide day-to-day direction, oversight, support, and accountability.
• Work as a productive member of the CSP team and perform all Central Sterile Processing functions as operational needs require.
• Direct daily workflow and staff assignments based on surgical volume, staffing, instrument needs, equipment availability, and department priorities.
• Review upcoming surgical schedules and proactively identify instrumentation needs, shortages, conflicts, vendor/loaner requirements, and processing priorities.
• Coordinate with the OR, Materials Management, surgical offices, and vendors regarding timely receipt, processing, and readiness of loaner and vendor instrumentation for scheduled procedures.
• Serve as the primary technical and operational resource for CSP staff regarding surgical instrumentation, reprocessing practices, equipment operation, and sterilization methods.
• Ensure required sterilizer, washer, ultrasonic, and other equipment testing, monitoring, quality controls, and documentation are completed accurately and within required timeframes.
• Monitor staff adherence to hospital policy, manufacturers' IFUs, infection-prevention requirements, regulatory standards, and established CSP procedures.
• Identify and immediately address unsafe, inconsistent, or noncompliant reprocessing practices and escalate significant quality or patient-safety concerns to Perioperative leadership as appropriate.
• Track instrument and equipment condition and coordinate repair, replacement, preventive maintenance, follow-up, and contingency planning as needed.
• Monitor department inventory and supply needs and collaborate with Materials Management and Perioperative leadership to maintain appropriate par levels while minimizing unnecessary inventory and waste.
• Provide effective shift-to-shift communication regarding outstanding instrumentation, loaners, repairs, equipment issues, staffing concerns, and department priorities.

Requirements:

Supervisory and Staff Responsibilities

• Provide direct supervision, coaching, guidance, and performance feedback to CSP staff.
• Establish daily work expectations and hold staff accountable for assigned responsibilities, quality standards, productivity, documentation, and compliance with department procedures.
• Participate in recruitment, interviewing, selection, onboarding, and retention of CSP staff in collaboration with the Director of Perioperative Services and Human Resources.
• Coordinate staff orientation, training, ongoing education, competency validation, certification requirements, and identified training needs.
• Address performance, conduct, attendance, communication, and workflow concerns in a timely manner and document or escalate concerns in accordance with hospital policy and applicable collective bargaining requirements.
• Participate in employee performance evaluations and corrective-action processes in collaboration with the Director of Perioperative Services and Human Resources.
• Assist with staff scheduling, daily coverage decisions, PTO planning, call coverage, and adjustments needed to maintain safe department operations.

Quality, Compliance, and Department Operations

• Support ongoing regulatory and accreditation readiness and maintain department practices consistent with applicable standards, hospital policy, and professional sterile processing guidance.
• Conduct or coordinate routine audits of reprocessing practices, sterilization records, equipment testing, documentation, storage conditions, and other department quality indicators.
• Investigate processing errors, missing instruments, wet loads, failed tests, damaged instrumentation, documentation deficiencies, and other quality events; implement immediate corrective actions and communicate significant findings to Perioperative leadership.
• Participate in development, review, implementation, and staff education related to CSP policies, procedures, workflows, and quality-improvement initiatives.
• Collaborate with Infection Prevention, Perioperative Services, Materials Management, Facilities, vendors, and other departments as necessary to resolve CSP operational and compliance issues.
• Assist the Director of Perioperative Services with department planning, equipment needs, capital requests, supply standardization, productivity, and process-improvement initiatives.

Qualifications

• High school diploma or equivalent required.
• Minimum of 3 years of Central Sterile Processing experience required; extensive hospital-based CSP experience strongly preferred.
• Previous CSP leadership, supervisory, senior technician, trainer, or department coordination experience strongly preferred.
• Nationally recognized sterile processing certification required or must be obtained within six months of hire; CRCST or CSPDT preferred.
• Strong knowledge of surgical instrumentation, decontamination, tray assembly, sterilization, sterile storage, endoscope reprocessing, and case picking.
• Experience supporting multiple surgical specialties, complex instrumentation, loaner/vendor trays, and surgical case readiness preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to supervise and coach staff, address performance concerns, establish priorities, and maintain accountability in a fast-paced clinical support environment.
• Strong organizational, communication, critical-thinking, conflict-resolution, and problem-solving skills; able to work effectively with limited supervision.
• Ability to anticipate instrumentation needs based on the surgical schedule and adjust department priorities in response to changing clinical needs.
• Ability to perform all physical requirements of CSP and work in both decontamination and clean processing areas.