OGDENSBURG -- Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center joined other healthcare institutions across the United States during the week of Sept. 17 to celebrate surgical technologists.

A surgical technologist, also called a scrub tech, is an allied health professional working as a part of the team delivering surgical care.

"Surgical technologists are highly specialized members of the surgical team that works in surgery or perioperative areas. They possess the knowledge and skills in sterile and aseptic techniques. The goal is for surgical technologists to be able to anticipate the next move the surgeon is going to make to make the procedure as smooth and efficient as possible. They do this by having the knowledge of hundreds of surgical procedures and the steps the surgeon needs to take to complete the procedure, including the full range of surgical instruments they may need," according to a prepared statement from CHMC.