CME Insider's Blog Posts

Shelving units filled with an array of roughly organized supplies and crowded into a small space. Sound familiar? 

For many healthcare facilities supply storage space is limited, challenging even the best inventory control systems to maintain required levels of supplies and manage product expirations in the crowded, possibly disorganized environment. 

So, is the problem the size of the space or is it how the limited space is used?

While more space for supplies is always on the wish list, the best solution is to optimize the available space with high-density shelving. Increase storage space with Track Shelving, Basket Shelving or a Customized Shelving system specific to your needs.

Since the latest COVID surge has died down, many hospitals and surgery centers are now tackling the mountain of backlogged surgeries. Healthcare facilities need to streamline surgical processes to maximize throughput. Choosing the right surgical cart is critical. Metro’s team is consistently looking for ways to make supply transport and storage easier and more efficient for healthcare professionals. While researching storage and transport requirements for sterile processing operations, our team noticed that case carts lacked key features that could improve workflow.

Facilities were improvising to make their processes work, like using soccer cones to identify cart status, needing mittens to pull carts out of the cart washer, and fighting with carts to keep them tracking in a straight line and going around corners. The lack of a designed solution caused unnecessary inefficiencies throughout the day-to-day activities.

Introducing Metro CaseVue™, the all-new case cart that is designed around the day-to-day operations of facilities with enhancements that remove the improv and allow the sterile processing department to work more efficiently.

Crash carts or code carts are one of the most important tools used at medical facilities. If one of these code blue carts is called into action, someone's life is on the line. This is why each emergency crash cart should be optimized to be as efficient as possible. Here are some common issues medical staffers have faced with these medical carts and the innovations Metro has created to combat them.

Crash carts are an essential part of any medical facility. These carts need to be properly supplied and secured to ensure availability when an urgent situation arises. It is important that these carts are standardized throughout the facility as you never know where or when a situation may occur

Crash carts need to be ready to take on an emergency. Is yours? If the answer is no, then you might have some work to do. If your crash cart isn’t being utilized efficiently, there are a few underlying reasons as to why that is. The first is that the crash cart you invested in isn’t a proper match for your facility. The second revolves around supply management. Having the right supplies on a crash cart is vital because caregivers often need them immediately for the patient to survive.

In a 12-month data review of hospital data, the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority found 56 reports that showed emergency response calls where supplies or equipment were missing or expired. Of the 56 statements, 35 referenced issues with crash carts themselves, and 21 referenced problems with unavailable supplies or other supply management issues.

As the world shut down and hospitals prepared for a pandemic, manufacturers like Metro were faced with a new challenge. How could the team at Metro help those on the front lines?