Water touches nearly every step of sterile processing.
It is used for cleaning, rinsing, thermal disinfection, steam generation, and countless other processes that support safe patient care. Yet despite its importance, water quality is often one of the least understood aspects of the Sterile Processing Department.
Many SPD professionals receive extensive training on cleaning, sterilization, instrumentation, and workflow management. Few receive formal education on how water quality affects those outcomes every day.
That is exactly why MACSA SPD Summer School: Sophomore Year is hosting a special educational session presented by Renee Vander Weele, Director of Clinical Services at VERDA Water Quality Systems.
More Than Just Water: The Why Behind AAMI ST108
Saturday, August 22, 2026
10:00 AM – 11:00 AM ET
Live via Zoom
This session is designed to help Sterile Processing professionals understand not only what ANSI/AAMI ST108 requires, but why the standard exists in the first place.
Water Is Often Viewed as a Utility—Until Something Goes Wrong
For decades, water was often viewed as a facilities responsibility or a utility that simply worked in the background.
Unfortunately, many organizations don’t begin evaluating their water quality program until they experience consequences such as:
- Instrument staining or corrosion
- Equipment performance issues
- Wet packs
- Failed surveys
- Rejected instrument sets
- Unexpected downtime
By the time these problems become visible, the underlying cause may have existed for months.
Three Common Misconceptions
During the session, attendees will explore several common misconceptions that continue to exist throughout healthcare:
- “We have an RO system. We’re fine.” An RO system is equipment. Compliance is a process that includes testing, monitoring, documentation, maintenance, and corrective actions.
- “Facilities owns water.” Water quality affects far more than Facilities. It impacts SPD, Infection Prevention, Risk Management, Biomedical teams, Leadership, and ultimately patients.
- “The water looks fine.” Water can appear perfectly clear while containing endotoxins, microbial contamination, excessive conductivity, or dissolved minerals that cannot be detected visually.
What Good Water Management Looks Like
One of the most practical portions of the presentation examines six common weaknesses found in SPD water quality programs:
- Unclear ownership
- Missing documentation plans
- Gaps in monitoring
- Vendor-focused rather than patient-focused decision making
- Reactive problem solving
- Fragmented support structures
Attendees will learn how these weaknesses can create operational risk and why strong water quality programs focus on accountability, visibility, documentation, and proactive management.
Why This Matters
At its core, this session is not really about water.
It is about:
- Reliable cleaning
- Protected instruments
- Operational continuity
- Regulatory confidence
- Patient safety
Water simply sits upstream of all of them.
Whether you are a technician, supervisor, manager, educator, or healthcare leader, this presentation will provide practical insights into one of the most overlooked variables in sterile processing.
We invite you to join MACSA SPD Summer School and discover why water quality has become one of the most important conversations happening in healthcare today.
Register Today
Join Renee Vander Weele and your colleagues from across the SPD community on August 22 as we explore the “why” behind ANSI/AAMI ST108 and what every sterile processing professional should know about water quality.