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.
Make sure you are ready to take care of your patients in an emergency situation by making sure your cart is stocked with everything in the checklist below:
Supplies you need in your Crash Cart
☐ Airway (oral and nasal) all sizes
☐ McGill forceps, large and small
☐ King Airway set (3) eliminates the need for laryngoscope and endotracheal tubes
☐ Bag valve mask (adult and pediatric)
☐ Nasal cannula
☐ Non-rebreather oxygen face masks (3 sizes)
☐ IV start packs
☐ Normal saline solution (1000 ml bags)
☐ IV tubing
☐ Angiocaths (various sizes)
☐ Normal saline flush syringes (3)
☐ Gauze
☐ Alcohol preps
☐ Monitor with defibrillator (preferred) or AED
☐ Syringe nasal adaptor (nasal NARCAN® atomizer)
☐ Personal protective equipment (Gloves, Masks, garments)
☐ Aspirin 81 mg Tablets
☐ Nitroglycerin spray or 0.4 mg tablets
☐ Dextrose 50% (dextrose 25% if treating pediatrics)
☐ Narcan 1 mg/ml (6)
☐ Epinephrine 1:10,000 Abboject™ (3)
☐ Atropine Sulfate 1 mg Abboject™ (3)
☐ Amiodarone 150 mg Vial (4)
☐ EpiPen Jr® (2)
☐ Solumedrol 125 mg vial
☐ EpiPen® (2)
☐ Benadryl 50 mg vial (2)
☐ Lopressor 10 mg (2)
☐ Adenosine 6 mg (4)
☐ Cardizem 20 mg vial (2)
☐ Pronestyl (procainamide) 1g in 10 ml, 100 mg/ml Vial (1)
Materials sourced from: https://www.acls.net/acls-crash-cart.htm
Metro offers the only cart on the market specifically engineered to handle crash cart supplies. Lifeline carts provide optimal storage for easy supply sectioning and multiple features for added efficiency when you need it most. Lifeline includes a 5th wheel that helps maintain a straight line when pushing down corridors, makes turning corners easier and faster, enabling you to get to the patient as quickly as possible.
For quick access to supplies in emergencies, the cart offers a passive locking option that helps show what was used without slowing the process of making the cart ready for the next code.
Looking for your ideal crash cart? Trust the experts at CME and Metro to create the perfect cart for your team.
About CME: CME Corp is the nation’s premier source for healthcare equipment, turnkey logistics, and biomedical services, representing 2 million+ products from more than 2,000 manufacturers.
With two corporate offices and 35+ service centers, our mission is to help healthcare facilities nationwide reduce the cost of the equipment they purchase, make their equipment specification, delivery, installation, and maintenance processes more efficient, and help them seamlessly launch, renovate and expand on schedule.
About Metro: Metro offers a wide array of innovative technology, storage and transport solutions for healthcare. Our solutions are designed to optimize workflow, maximize space and enhance productivity.
