It takes teamwork to do surgery \u2014 surgeons collaborate with anesthesiologists, nurses and a variety of other professionals to provide safe, effective care.<\/p>\n
But behind the scenes, there\u2019s another critical team whose work is essential to the success of every procedure.<\/p>\n
Sterile processing technicians clean, sterilize and prepare each medical instrument and piece of equipment used in surgical and clinical procedures. These professionals ensure every tool meets strict safety standards, directly supporting patient safety and surgical outcomes.<\/p>\n
In April 2024, our organization celebrated the graduation of the inaugural class of the MultiCare Sterile Processing Academy \u2014 the first program of its kind in Washington. Graduates went on to fill mission-critical roles at MultiCare, reinforcing the backbone of our surgical operations.<\/p>\n
Like many other positions in health care, the supply of sterile processing technicians has not kept pace with demand, resulting in a shortage of these professionals at health systems across the nation. A lack of sterile processing technicians can lead to delayed or canceled surgeries, potentially jeopardizing patients\u2019 health.<\/p>\n
To address this shortage, MultiCare partnered with STERIS, a company that specializes in surgical products and services, to launch the Sterile Processing Academy.<\/p>\n
Participants undergo a rigorous curriculum with a combination of classroom instruction, hands-on experience and preparation for the Healthcare Sterile Processing Association certification exam. Upon passing the exam, participants become certified registered central service technicians.<\/p>\n
After the first cohort of students graduated in April, MultiCare and STERIS collaborated with Clover Park Technical College to expand the academy with a grant from Washington state. With this support, MultiCare launched additional cohorts of trainees, including one focused on materials management.<\/p>\n
Rather than cleaning and sterilizing instruments, these professionals select already sterilized instruments for upcoming procedures, a process known as case cart picking. This layer of support helps streamline surgical workflows and enhances the accuracy and efficiency of our perioperative services.<\/p>\n
\u201cPrograms like this are an investment in the future of health care. They not only create opportunities for individuals to pursue meaningful careers but also ensure that our hospitals have the highly trained professionals needed to deliver safe, quality care.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
An investment in our future<\/h2>\n
To help recruit candidates to the Sterile Processing Academy, MultiCare hires participants as employees while they attend training and then places them in jobs at MultiCare facilities after they complete their education and certification.<\/p>\n
This approach, used across many of our workforce development programs, reduces financial barriers for those who would like to enter the profession but can\u2019t afford the required training or are unable to take time off work to attend school.<\/p>\n
In addition to creating new career opportunities for our community members, this program also benefits current MultiCare employees interested in a career change.<\/p>\n
In 2024, 28 participants completed academy programs and accepted positions at MultiCare Tacoma General, MultiCare Allenmore and MultiCare Good Samaritan hospitals, fulfilling local staffing needs and improving surgical support across the system.<\/p>\n
\u201cPrograms like this are an investment in the future of health care,\u201d says Leola Davis, managing clinical educator at Steris. \u201cThey not only create opportunities for individuals to pursue meaningful careers but also ensure that our hospitals have the highly trained professionals needed to deliver safe, quality care.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It takes teamwork to do surgery \u2014 surgeons collaborate with anesthesiologists, nurses and a variety of other professionals to provide safe, effective care. But behind the scenes, there\u2019s another critical team whose work is essential to the success of every procedure. Sterile processing technicians clean, sterilize and prepare each medical instrument and piece of equipment […]<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"author":123,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,83],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37085","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-community","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
New academy graduates fill critical roles at MultiCare - MultiCare Vitals<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"MultiCare celebrates the graduation of the inaugural class of the MultiCare Sterile Processing Academy, the first program of its kind in Washington state.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/first-of-it-kind-multicare-academy-expands-health-care-workforce\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New academy graduates fill critical roles at MultiCare - MultiCare Vitals\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"MultiCare celebrates the graduation of the inaugural class of the MultiCare Sterile Processing Academy, the first program of its kind in Washington state.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/first-of-it-kind-multicare-academy-expands-health-care-workforce\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"MultiCare Vitals\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/multicarehealthsystem\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-12-19T10:10:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-10-27T16:00:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2025\/04\/Sterile_Processing_Academy_Graduates--1024x768.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"MultiCare Health System\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"New academy graduates fill critical roles at MultiCare - MultiCare Vitals\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"MultiCare celebrates the graduation of the inaugural class of the MultiCare Sterile Processing Academy, the first program of its kind in Washington state.\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/first-of-it-kind-multicare-academy-expands-health-care-workforce\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/first-of-it-kind-multicare-academy-expands-health-care-workforce\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"MultiCare Health System\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a785ffa7e02e06539698b678994ff983\"},\"headline\":\"First-of-it-kind MultiCare academy expands health care workforce\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-12-19T10:10:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-10-27T16:00:09+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/first-of-it-kind-multicare-academy-expands-health-care-workforce\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":542,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Community Support & Partnerships\",\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/first-of-it-kind-multicare-academy-expands-health-care-workforce\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/first-of-it-kind-multicare-academy-expands-health-care-workforce\\\/\",\"name\":\"New academy graduates fill critical roles at MultiCare - MultiCare Vitals\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-12-19T10:10:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-10-27T16:00:09+00:00\",\"description\":\"MultiCare celebrates the graduation of the inaugural class of the MultiCare Sterile Processing Academy, the first program of its kind in Washington state.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/first-of-it-kind-multicare-academy-expands-health-care-workforce\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/first-of-it-kind-multicare-academy-expands-health-care-workforce\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/first-of-it-kind-multicare-academy-expands-health-care-workforce\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"First-of-it-kind MultiCare academy expands health care workforce\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/\",\"name\":\"MultiCare Vitals\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"MultiCare\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/15\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/MultiCare-Color.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/15\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/MultiCare-Color.png\",\"width\":1500,\"height\":409,\"caption\":\"MultiCare\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/multicarehealthsystem\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/multicarehealth\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/multicare-health-system\\\/mycompany\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/user\\\/multicarehealth\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a785ffa7e02e06539698b678994ff983\",\"name\":\"MultiCare Health System\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/author\\\/multicarehealthsystem\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"New academy graduates fill critical roles at MultiCare - MultiCare Vitals","description":"MultiCare celebrates the graduation of the inaugural class of the MultiCare Sterile Processing Academy, the first program of its kind in Washington state.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/first-of-it-kind-multicare-academy-expands-health-care-workforce\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"New academy graduates fill critical roles at MultiCare - MultiCare Vitals","og_description":"MultiCare celebrates the graduation of the inaugural class of the MultiCare Sterile Processing Academy, the first program of its kind in Washington state.","og_url":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/first-of-it-kind-multicare-academy-expands-health-care-workforce\/","og_site_name":"MultiCare Vitals","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/multicarehealthsystem","article_published_time":"2024-12-19T10:10:03+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-10-27T16:00:09+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":768,"url":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2025\/04\/Sterile_Processing_Academy_Graduates--1024x768.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"MultiCare Health System","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"New academy graduates fill critical roles at MultiCare - MultiCare Vitals","twitter_description":"MultiCare celebrates the graduation of the inaugural class of the MultiCare Sterile Processing Academy, the first program of its kind in Washington state.","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/first-of-it-kind-multicare-academy-expands-health-care-workforce\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/first-of-it-kind-multicare-academy-expands-health-care-workforce\/"},"author":{"name":"MultiCare Health System","@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/#\/schema\/person\/a785ffa7e02e06539698b678994ff983"},"headline":"First-of-it-kind MultiCare academy expands health care workforce","datePublished":"2024-12-19T10:10:03+00:00","dateModified":"2025-10-27T16:00:09+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/first-of-it-kind-multicare-academy-expands-health-care-workforce\/"},"wordCount":542,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Community Support & Partnerships","News"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/first-of-it-kind-multicare-academy-expands-health-care-workforce\/","url":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/first-of-it-kind-multicare-academy-expands-health-care-workforce\/","name":"New academy graduates fill critical roles at MultiCare - MultiCare Vitals","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/#website"},"datePublished":"2024-12-19T10:10:03+00:00","dateModified":"2025-10-27T16:00:09+00:00","description":"MultiCare celebrates the graduation of the inaugural class of the MultiCare Sterile Processing Academy, the first program of its kind in Washington state.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/first-of-it-kind-multicare-academy-expands-health-care-workforce\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/first-of-it-kind-multicare-academy-expands-health-care-workforce\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/first-of-it-kind-multicare-academy-expands-health-care-workforce\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"First-of-it-kind MultiCare academy expands health care workforce"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/#website","url":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/","name":"MultiCare Vitals","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/#organization","name":"MultiCare","url":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2021\/05\/MultiCare-Color.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2021\/05\/MultiCare-Color.png","width":1500,"height":409,"caption":"MultiCare"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/multicarehealthsystem","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/multicarehealth\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/multicare-health-system\/mycompany\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/multicarehealth"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/#\/schema\/person\/a785ffa7e02e06539698b678994ff983","name":"MultiCare Health System","url":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/author\/multicarehealthsystem\/"}]}},"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"link","format":"url"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37085","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/123"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37085"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37085\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38681,"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37085\/revisions\/38681"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37085"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37085"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37085"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}