Flagstaff (Ariz.) Medical Center rescheduled elective procedures on its main campus and at its ASC after finding discoloration on filters used for sterilization, the Arizona Daily Sun reports.
Here's what you should know:
1. Hospital and ASC officials used other machines to test if the instruments were sterile, and although they were sterile, elective procedures were delayed temporarily.
2. Alternate sterilization techniques were used for the non-rescheduled procedures.
3. A manufacturing fault with the filters caused the discoloration.
Flagstaff Medical Center Interim Chief Administration Officer John Harrington said, "Patient safety is our No. 1 priority, which is why we proactively took precaution rescheduling elective surgeries while we investigated our sterilization assurance checks. We have now reopened full operations and apologize for any inconvenience this might have caused patients and families."