UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital
UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital is a nationally recognized and awarded hospital located in Aurora, CO near Denver. University of Colorado Hospital is a Level 1 trauma center, and houses the only CAAHEP accredited ultrasound program in the state of Colorado.
About the Facility:
UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital is a nationally recognized and awarded hospital located in Aurora, CO near Denver. University of Colorado Hospital is a Level 1 trauma center, and houses the only CAAHEP accredited ultrasound program in the state of Colorado. The healthcare system provides ultrasound exams and procedures for out-patient, high-risk OBGYN, in-patient areas and emergency.
Tracy Bieker is the Radiology Manager for Ultrasound. She oversees a team of 50 sonographers as well as 6-7 sonography students who provide coverage to the main campus (staffed 24/7), in addition to off-site clinics including five free-standing emergency rooms across the metropolitan area. A day-in-the-life for Tracy includes making sure all clinics are running smoothly, managing equipment needs, budgeting, scanning patients, and ensuring her staff is well equipped with what they need to do their jobs successfully.
“I have a really incredible team. All sonographers are competent in using the trophon devices. We also have a sonographer educator, supervisors and leads who I consider my experts on trophon devices.”Teresa (Tracy) BiekerMBA, CRA, RDMS, RDCS, RVT | Radiology Manager, Ultrasound
Streamlined Accreditation, Time Savings
UC Health was an early adopter of trophon technology, initially installing the devices in 2014. Prior to adopting trophon devices for the reprocessing of their ultrasound probes, their team was soaking probes with CIDEX. “With the regulatory and TJC requirements, it was getting harder to maintain the soaking process. The need for multiple logs, test strips, specific temperatures, and manual processes became quite a burden for us. The TJC was encouraging an automated process. The trophon device is also a big time-saver for us, with just a 7-minute cycle. The same sonographer who performs the procedure is responsible for reprocessing the probes, so this time-savings means they can get back to spending more time with patients. The process is straightforward, less administrative and requires less manual log-maintenance.”
trophon EPR to trophon2
In the emergency departments, UC Health keeps a trophon unit in each exam room. The main campus recently upgraded five of their devices from the trophon EPR model to the new trophon2. “We love the new trophon2 model. We were pushing close to 10,000 cycles in our EPR devices. With the trophon2, the team appreciates the new user-face with guided pictures and directions. Having each probe and staff member tagged has also made the documentation process easier and more streamlined.”
Improved Patient Safety
“I see patient safety as the primary benefit of using trophon devices. Bottom line, each time our patients are scanned, we know the probe is properly cleaned.”
