Elective surgeries are back on the table at Aspen Valley Hospital after a near weeklong disruption due to sterilization issues, officials said Thursday.
At approximately 3 p.m. Thursday, the public hospital received clearance that it can resume all types of surgeries.
“We’re actually somewhat giddy,” said hospital CEO David Ressler, adding that “we had people here around the clock.”
The hospital discovered its surgical packs had been compromised during their steam-sterilization process, resulting in problematic moisture levels in the packs on the evening of Jan. 25. Surgeries before that discovery were not affected, Ressler said, while the hospital had a reserve of surgical packs for trauma operations.
The tainted packs meant the hospital had to either postpone or transfer the scheduled elective surgeries until the problem could be remedied.
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