Backlog in sterilized equipment forces St. Charles to cancel surgeries
Published 1:22 pm Friday, June 12, 2026
Dan Henderson had been in pain for months and was anxiously awaiting a hip replacement surgery that his family hoped would get him back on his feet and back to his old self.
But on May 20 — the day before the 78-year-old was scheduled to go under the knife — a representative from St. Charles Health System informed him his surgery was canceled.
It was devastating news for Henderson and his family.
“We spent months anticipating this pain would soon be dissipating … it was a real blow,” said Nancy Henderson, Dan’s wife and full-time caretaker.
The Henderson’s case is not unique, as numerous other elective surgeries scheduled at St. Charles were canceled in May, due to issues in the hospital system’s sterile processing department.
According to St. Charles, their surgical department saw record demand during the month, which taxed the department that is tasked with making sure surgical equipment is sterilized and safe for each scheduled procedure. The problem was related to a lack of staff and equipment necessary to keep up with the increased volume, according to spokeswoman Alandra Johnson.
As a result, St. Charles had to cancel a number elective and non-emergency surgeries “to ensure the necessary equipment was available for emergent and urgent cases,” Johnson said.
Some who rely on the equipment said as many as half of the surgeries scheduled at the hospital were canceled during the week of May 20 and caseloads were reduced for a couple weeks after.
The sterilization process
After surgery, instruments like scalpels and implants are sent to the sterile processing department where the equipment is individually decontaminated by employees and set in automated washers that run around the clock.
Once out of the washers, surgical equipment is individually tested for rust or biohazards before they are prepped for the next procedure.
Due to a lack of “capacity” in the department, not enough equipment was decontaminated in time to keep up with the caseload, leading St. Charles to cancel a number of surgeries.
That had knock-on effects for health care throughout Central Oregon.
Many doctors and medical professions who work outside St. Charles also use the hospital’s operating room, ranging from the Bend Anesthesia Group to Summit Health. When St. Charles has to cancel elective operations, it often affects surgeons outside of the network.
To address the issues in the department, St. Charles said it has hired temporary staff and brought in outside experts to examine the issue. The hospital will also hire full-time staff to the sterile processing team and will purchase additional equipment to keep up with demand, according to Johnson.
Currently, St. Charles is back to a full surgical schedule. However, some elective surgery patients may continue to experience delays in their surgery date as St. Charles continues to resolve the issue and reschedule the canceled procedures.
Henderson had to transfer surgery locations and his hip replacement is now scheduled at Cascade Surgicenter for the first available opening: June 23. That means at least another month of pain that has kept him nearly bedridden.
“We are painfully waiting for surgery,” said Nancy Henderson.