What started out as lighthearted recognition idea became a rinsing reality for Naval Hospital Bremerton’s Sterile Processing Department.
SPD staff members – primarily Navy Nurse Corps officers and hospital corpsmen with surgical technologist specialty training in attendance – held a ribbon-cutting ceremony, May 7, 2026, to formally proclaim restoration of vital cart washer ability after a two-year outage of such a critical service.
No more time-consuming manual washing, cleaning and sanitizing.
“Super excited with this,” exclaimed Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Megan Calderon, Main Operating Room surgical technologist. “I love it.”
According to Cmdr. Marissa Hesse, NHB Surgery Department head, after jokingly suggesting that some type of recognition was needed to emphasize having the service back up and running, that notion lead to the ceremonial observance.
“The ribbon-cutting ceremony was held to highlight this critical return to full operational capability and recognize the resilience of our surgical staff,” said Hesse.
It was several years ago when a surgical technologist identified a drain overflow associated with the previous cart washer. A subsequent safety investigation revealed severe hazards, including interior rusting and electrified water, necessitating an immediate and permanent shutdown to ensure worker safety.
“Since that time, our SPD personnel and surgical technologists have had to completely overhaul their daily workflows,” noted Hesse. “For 24 months, they have successfully managed manual workarounds to ensure zero degradation in patient care or surgical readiness, despite the significant increase in physical labor and time required.”
Hesse and others knowingly attest that with the Sterile Processing Department located away from the mainstream of daily hospital routine, the importance of having the new cart washer might not resonate to those who don’t realize its significance.
“The cart washer is a critical piece of infrastructure for hospital infection control and surgical operations. Its return restores automated, high-level decontamination capabilities for surgical carts and equipment. This not only dramatically improves workflow efficiency and turnaround times for the operating rooms, but it also ensures the highest standard of patient safety and permanently resolves the occupational hazards our staff previously faced,” explained Hesse.
The brief ribbon-cutting ceremony not only formally unveiled the new equipment but also provided the opportunity to publicly recognize the SPD and Main OR surgical technologist teams for their adaptability and hard work during the two-year outage.
“What an amazing morning. Moments like this are important. To solve this problem everyone worked together, with material management, facility management, your equipment folks, Main OR and SPD staff,” said Capt. Karla Lepore, Naval Hospital Bremerton director and Navy Medicine Readiness Training Command Bremerton commanding officer.
“Celebrating a small moment like this is to acknowledge all that goes into the behind the scenes work to get this project done,” added Hesse, noting that the new system back online is also a result of leadership’s commitment to resolving critical staff safety and infrastructure issues, and demonstrates the command’s enhanced medical readiness and infection control capabilities.
Hospital corpsmen with surgical technologist specialty skills handle Sterile Processing Department duties. A typical day for the surgical techs has them assisting in the Main OR during all surgical cases, followed by meticulous cleaning, disinfecting, and ensuring proper sterilization has taken place for all gear being used to eliminate risk of infection.