My name is Denise.  I am a full time EMT in Northern Michigan.  My EMS career began 24 years ago, after working nearly 20 years as a Medical Assistant.  I also spent several years as a FireFighter, but being an asthmatic since childhood cut that career shorter than I had hoped.  First and formost though, I am a mom, daughter, wife, sister, aunt and gramma (GaGa they call me!)  Also mom to a cat and 2 horses.  My days are pretty full, as is my heart!

I have spent many months of my  journey researching supplies and pen cartridges after experiencing a very severe systemic skin reaction from what I believed was a "sterilized" pen cartridge. I have found that although many of the cartridges offered for sale to Researchers are sold  as "sterilized" cartridges, they may not be. My first warning should have been the individual cartridges purchased, sealed in steam/chemical indicating pouches with color changing indicators that have not been activated.

I tell myself, “I should have known better,” as I have worked in the medical field for nearly 40 years. I’ve been trained in pathogens, aseptic techniques and sterile procedures. I’ve personally sterilized equipment in several clinics and I have taught Medical Assistant students these subjects as well.

I've purchased cartridges from multiple vendors. Many are advertised as sterilized, with no clear indication that they are truly sterile. When I asked about sterilization, I’ve been told that they were sanitized..... They were sterilized by UV light.... They were sterilized in an autoclave, prior to being packaged. I’ve also been told: “this is how I get them from China and they said that they were sterilized.” Oddly enough, 90% of the cartridges I purchased were packaged in the same way, using pouches that have not been activated to indicate steam sterilization has taken place.

I know that UV light sterilization is not always capable of penetrating glass, I know that steam does not penetrate the insides of a cartridge that is plugged with a rubber stopper, and I know that sanitizing is NOT equivalent to sterilizing. “Sanitizing reduces germs to a safe level for most surfaces, while sterilizing completely eliminates all living microorganisms, including bacteria, viruses, and spores.”
I have been sterilizing pen cartridges for myself and family for many months now. I feel everyone should have the opportunity to purchase genuine sterilized cartridges and have decided to offer cartridges for sale at a reasonable price.

I have also found a way to offer a sterile cartridge that does not require a venting needle to fill!  They are fast and easy to prepare and are pretty much the only cartridges I use any more. They require dual sterilization and are a little more time-consuming to assemble, but well worth it in the end. I call them EZ-Fill Cartridges because… well they are! Even with the added time to assemble them, I can still offer them at a reasonable price.  

My goal is to assure other researchers that they can use a cartridge that is sterilized in the same way that Dr’s and Dentist's have been sterilizing their equipment for years…. At a price comparable to cartridges that may or may not be sanitized, let alone sterilized.