The Olympic Medical Center Board of Commissioners recognized OMC surgical technologist Dennis Kitchens at a recent board meeting, commending Kitchens’ pursuit of exceeding industry standards for quality monitoring of flexible endoscopes.

Kitchens spearheaded an initiative to not only meet industry standards for appropriately reprocessing flexible scopes used during endoscopies, but to exceed the reprocessing standard, OMC officials said.

Dennis developed a specialized tracking form to ensure every flexible scope was not only subjected to regular ATP (adenosine triphosphate) testing but passed with a score of 20 or less, far exceeding industry requirements of 40 or less, OMC representatives said; thanks to Kitchens, all scopes are processed until a score of 20 or lower is achieved.

“The surgical services department and OMC leadership would like to commend Dennis for his commitment to safety, quality, and willingness to purse standards of excellence that exceed the norm,” Mindy Stephens, Short Stay and Endoscopy manager, said in a press release.

Kitchens joined OMC’s dietary team in 2007 and throughout his time with the organization has continued increasing his knowledge and experience. In 2018, he joined the endoscopy team as an endoscope reprocessor and obtained his certification. He’s been in his current role since March 2019.

“Dennis is a highly reliable and flexible employee and he’s a joy to work with,” Stephens said.