SURGICAL SUPPLY STORAGE

Mobile Systems Provide Surgical Supply Storage in State-of-the-Art Surgery Center

SITUATION:

Kennestone Hospital in Marietta, Georgia recently added a new self-contained wing to accommodate an expanded and state-of-the-art Surgical Services department. In an effort to provide patients with state-of-the-art procedure rooms that accommodate new, high-tech medical equipment, they built larger rooms and removed permanent supply storage from the rooms.

"Advances in technology are not something that you can prepare yourself for," explained Kate Shandley, surgical services supply coordinator. "New medical equipment is often huge and takes up a lot of space in the procedure rooms. In an effort to provide safe movement of staff and equipment within the rooms and prevent cross contamination of sterile supplies, our surgical supplies are now kept outside the room in the central core.

The new Surgical Services department — which incorporates pre-op, post-op and surgery for Neuro, Plastics, Orthopedic, Vascular, General lap, ENT and ophthalmology — was designed with efficiency and ergonomics in mind. The central supply core is located in the middle of the wing with two service corridors on either side of it. Nurses and surgical staff can enter the supply core from either side to access critical supplies before or during a procedure.

Storage Solution

Spacesaver worked with Shandley to design the most optimum storage solution to meet the needs of the department. A unique mobile system was designed with stainless steel wire racks, which helps minimize dust collections and maximize cleanliness in the sterile supply area. Also, the Spacesaver system incorporates completely clear Plexiglas end panels to facilitate quick visual locating.

"When surgical staff are loading case carts or need to access something quickly during a procedure, they need to be able to locate items as quickly as possible." said Shandley. "The clear panels help us to have have full visual access to materials and facilitate quick retrievals."