STERILE SUPPLY INVENTORY

Foremost Academic Medical Center Saves Space and Cuts Sterile Supply Inventory Costs

SITUATION:

When the Medical College of Pennsylvania, a member of the Tenet group purchasing organization, began a necessary remodel project to satisfy several essential improvements there was to be more room given to a large MRI area, which is in the OR. Also, the OR needed space freed up for larger procedure rooms that could accommodate new technology equipment for neuro-surgery procedures.

The designer worked with the OR staff to redesign the area and, in the process, made changes to the sterile supplies and sterile processing areas to make them more prolific and space efficient. Previously, sterile processing was done in the OR suite and sterile supplies were scattered throughout the procedure rooms, in the sterile processing room and on two other floors. As part of the remodel, sterile processing was moved to a different floor, which freed space for an additional procedure room. All of the sterile supplies were centralized into one storeroom in the OR corridor. The architectural firm on the project recommended the use of a high-density storage system to minimize the use of valuable sterile space needed for storage.

Storage Solution

A Spacesaver mechanical assist mobile system, which was purchased under the Tenet contract, was designed into a small room. Located in a central location in the OR suite, supplies are now conveniently located close to where they are needed. "Without the mobile system, we would never have been able to have fit everything in the OR area and still achieve our other remodel goals," stated Lisa Czyzewski, OR director.

Czyzewski also explained that by consolidating the sterile supply inventory, she's been able to reduce the amount needed and meet the hospital's operational streamlining goals. "It was difficult to maintain a cost-effective level of supply inventory when we had supplies scattered, " she said. "With everything in one place, we have been able to cut inventory."