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EFHSS Conference 2004
Lectures and Presentations
Opening Session
Introduction
by Wim Renders
Cesme 6 May 2004
Good morning. It is my turn to welcome you to the fifth congress of the EFHSS. Of course first of all I would like to express my thanks to the Turkish society for the excellent location and the splendid organization. Secondly I would like to thank Dokuz Eylul University for the moral and logistical support. This academic support is very important as it recognizes the central position of sterilization in the hospital and provides a scientific underpinning for it. The concept 'central' does not only figuratively refer to the importance of the CSSD for a hospital but should also be taken literally. For economic, organizational but mainly for reasons of quality sterilization should be centralised in a hospital. The example which is provided by the hospital of the University of Izmir should hopefully also inspire others. Sterilization is a specific subject which requires specific know-how and abilities.
This is actually one of the objectives of the EFHSS namely to make knowledge available and to facilitate the transfer of information. In order to achieve this goal two channels are used:
- the website: www.efhss.com
- the annual European Congress.
We aim both to provide basic information and to follow the latest developments in the area of sterilization and to critically engage with them. At this congress for example hot topics such as Decontamination and Low Temperature Sterilization will be discussed.
Although innovation is mainly introduced through industry we trust that the poster session and the 3M award given to the best poster will provide a strong stimulus for research in the health care sector in order to increase the share of the CSSD in it.
But also the provision of basic information remains essential. We trust that we can reach a wide audience with the educative series of Jan Huys. The efforts of the EFHSS to arrive at a harmonized European model for training and accreditation fit within the same framework.
In the realization of these goals the support of companies is extremely important. For this reason I would like to thank the industrial partners of our website and the companies with a stand at this congress. I would like to ask all participants to pay a visit to the company stands. Your interest will be appreciated and will allow you to discover and to discuss the latest developments.
I would like to express my appreciation to everyone who has contributed to the realization of this congress and the scientific programme.
But I would like to add a personal reflection. In my perception our congresses go beyond the purely scientific, there is an added value. In this context the choice of the congress hotel happens to be very symbolic.
In front of the hotel there is a beautiful art work of a boy with a dolphin. The dolphin symbolizes cleanliness and is therefore an extrapolation of sterilization. The symbolism perfectly expresses the spirit of our organization and of this congress. Moreover the myth of the boy with the dolphin provides a meaningful extra dimension. The myth relates the story of Hermais, a boy who lived in the city of Iasos, in the Gulluk bay. One day Hermais went to swim with his friends. His friends came back to the shore but Hermais did not. The sad news of his drowning spread through the city and the people of Iasos were very sad. Some time later a fisherman saw Hermais while he was swimming with a dolphin. The fisherman tried to catch them but the waves were too big. He told the people of Iasos of what he had seen. The mother of Hermais ran to the beach but could not see her son.
One day a dolphin brought Hermais to the shore on his back. He was dead. The dolphin tried to get back to the sea but could not. He died next to Hermais. In remembrance of the friendship between Hermais and the dolphin the people of Iasos had a golden statue made. From then on and still today the statue of Hermais and the dolphin symbolizes friendship and fidelity.
And what is friendship? Cicero the roman statesman, who spent the last days of his life not far from Izmir defined real friendship as wanting the same and rejecting the same: Haeic vera amicitia est: idem velle et idem nolle. And does this not apply to us as well? Don't we all want the same: to put a good medical device at the disposal of the patient? Nothing more but also nothing less. This creates a strong bond. Attending our congresses is therefore a sign of commitment because it implicitly is a call for personal involvement to keep on working for the improvement of the CSSD.
For some of you obtaining the ISO 9001 certificate or the introduction of a quality management system or even a central CSSD department might seem like a far off dream. And lots of steps, often very small ones will be needed to get closer to the ultimate goal. But you should never forget that by believing in your dreams you can turn them into reality.
I am sure that this congress will help you to get at least a few steps closer to the realization of your CSSD dream.
Enjoy the conference.
