HSPA President Arlene Bush on Service in SPD
Cape Coral, Florida – Some people just know how to be a leader.
Arlene Bush, CRCST, CER, CIS, CHL, SME, DSMD, CRMST, is one of those people. Bush is the Healthcare Sterile Processing Association (HSPA) 2025/2026 President, Communications Director of HSPA’s F.I.R.E. Chapter, a Sterile Processing Department (SPD) Educator, and a Sterilization, Infection Control, and Advantage Standards Ambassador.
SPD professionals from across the United States elected Bush as President for her expertise, heart, and drive to see the lives and outcomes of patients and SPD professionals improve one instrument at a time.
During her term, a major focus of Bush’s has been certification. She believes that certification is the gateway to industry longevity, best practices, and overall safety. According to Bush, about sixty seven thousand professionals currently hold certificates through HSPA. She wants that number to increase even more.
“One of our grandmothers in sterile processing, Sharon Greene Golden, BA, CRCST, CER, SME, FCS, said it best,” said Bush. “Your barber has a license. Your doctor has a license. Your nurse has a license. Your butcher has a certification. The person who’s reprocessing your surgical instruments should have a certification too.”
Bush knows it’s not enough to simply encourage technicians to seek certification. She does real work to provide critical resources to professionals interested in joining the field. It’s all about accessibility. Currently, an HSPA membership entitles members to free lesson plans for certification, reduced prices for annual conference and educational supplies, and more.
“Through my work with HSPA, I’m constantly fighting for our profession, and that starts by making sure that path to certification is as accessible as possible,” said Bush. “There’s nothing more rewarding than when a green tech comes up to you and tells you they’re certified. When you give people a path to believe in themselves, it’s life changing.”
In addition to her work effecting change on an individual level, Bush also strives to impact federal legislation that will move the profession forward. Bush was part of a team that travelled to Washington, D.C. to lobby for required certification. According to HSPA, certification is only required to work in sterile processing in seven out of fifty states. Bush wants to change that.
Bush is also on the Board of Directors for the South Florida chapter of HSPA, called FIRE.
Through this group, she provides educational sessions for only $10. “We bring the speakers and the food. In return, we just hope you come and hang out with us,” said Bush. “It’s a great opportunity to network with people in your state and learn more about the profession.”
Leadership Through Natural Disaster
Bush has received a lot of well-deserved praise for her accomplishments. But, for her, the real work doesn’t always happen in the limelight. Rooted in service and true leadership, some of Bush’s proudest moments have happened in the dark.
In September of 2022, Bush was living in South Florida when Hurricane Ian struck her town. News-Press described the effects of the hurricane as “catastrophic.” Electricity and water systems were damaged and down, roads were covered in shrapnel, many houses were flooded, and some community members even emerged from shelter to find boats in their front lawns.
“This hurricane pretty much wiped our city out,” said Bush. “We were flooded pretty badly. A lot of employees were displaced. As the manager, I had to determine: How do you return a department back to service when people don’t have anything at home?”
Bush decided that you start by being there for your department. So, she checked in relentlessly with her colleagues. Did they have food when they left the hospital that night? Did they need bottled water for drinking or washing? Did they need time away to help heal their families and homes?
She asked the same questions to the community around her, and provided support when the answer was, “No, I need help.”
When they weren’t prepping for surgeries, Bush and her team stood outside the hospital and passed out food and water to community members who needed it. Working at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, many of the people she served during this time were veterans.
“After the hurricane, that was the sterile processing department,” said Bush. “While we couldn’t go about business as usual, we were there for our community. I can’t thank my team enough for the work they did during this time to make sure our neighbors were okay.”
Two years before the hurricane, Bush led her department through yet another period of adversity: the Covid-19 pandemic. Doubling down on safe practices, Bush still found ways for her department to help out outside of the crucial sterilization work they underwent during this time.
“At one point, I cleaned the lobby every day. I decided that, if we don’t have any surgical cases, we should go clean somewhere else,” said Bush. “And who is better at cleaning than sterile processing?”
Bush also used her leadership to ensure her employees got the number of hours they need to take care of themselves and their families, even as the instrument volume decreased. “I made it so that anyone could come in and get more hours. We’ll find something for you to do. And we made it through.”
According to Bush, her tenacity and drive to serve aren’t learned traits. That commitment to a sense of purpose and care has always been in her.
“I’m an Islander. So, I was born to serve,” said Bush. “My family have always been givers. We care for people and we very much love everything we have. And when you love something, you take care of it.”
“I really try to remind folks to be humble in health care,” continued Bush. “You never know when the table is going to turn on you and you’re on the receiving end of care. We never do it for a thank you.”
SPD on the World Stage
This December, Bush’s work continues on at the global level at the 26th World Sterilization Congress in Hong Kong, China. The annual conference is hosted by the World Federation for Hospital Sterilization Services (WFHSS) and takes place in a new city and country each year. HSPA President Bush and her team will represent the United States at the conference.
“It’s immensely powerful to be able to see what SPDs are doing in other countries, and going to the World Federation is absolutely where to see the latest and greatest that’s out there around the globe for our profession,” said Bush. “It’s a huge privilege for me and HSPA to have a seat at the table and represent the United States.”
At the end of the day, whether she’s on a world stage or handing out water to her neighbors, it all comes down to one thing.
“As SPD professionals, we serve with a purpose. Our purpose is to ensure that we deliver sterile instrumentation. Every tray. Every time. We do that extremely well,” said Bush. “I want to compel everybody to take that time to really thank your employees for all that they do and all that they give of themselves, tirelessly, day in and day out. Personally, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
SterileBits: Be the Change
To read more stories similar to this one, visit the blog on www.sterilebits.com and follow SterileBits on LinkedIn.
To learn more about instrument protector cards by SterileBits, visit the products page.