SPECIAL FOCUS
Convenience, mobility drive cart, workstation progress
by Rick Dana Barlow Photo credit: auremar |
stock.adobe.com
ack during the pioneer era of the 19th century when Americans migrated west to populate the frontier, people historically didn’t visit hospitals for their healthcare largely because those institutions as we might recognize them today had yet to follow them. Instead, healthcare came to them in
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terms of “house calls” by local doctors who assisted in childbirths and per- formed surgeries.
Once the nation passed mid-century and entered the Civil War, major cities began to see the emergence of public hospitals where patients would go for healthcare. The development and progression of
carts and workstations seem to be mir- roring the pioneer era. “Today more than ever, care is being brought to the patient,” observed Dave Salus, Market Manager, Healthcare Division, InterMetro Industries Corp. “COVID has heightened this even more.” Salus points to evidence of carts and worksta- tions illuminating the trend of care going to the patient even before the pandemic emerged a year ago. Examples include anesthesia, which was predominantly per- formed in the Operating Room (OR) environment, now emerging in the Emer- gency Department (ER), in Radiology and Cardiology and in other places where patient care is given.
Dave Salus Salus homes in on the ER as a prime
example of how carts and workstations not only refl ect a trend but support it as well. “On a more micro-scale, take a look at
the Emergency Department,” he indi- cated. “It was designed with specifi c pods to provide patient care. However, during peak times, the pods are full, and patients continue to arrive. Some patients need immediate treatment and can’t wait for a bay to become available. Caregivers must treat those urgent patients where they can fi nd room, oftentimes in the corridors. The mobility of carts, can bring the necessary supplies, equipment and even data to the patient.”
As a result, carts and workstations can be equipped with mobile power sources to allow applications, such as anesthesia and E overfl ow, to be supported with supplies and patient data via computers and monitors linked to the hospital system without needing to be tethered to an outlet, he added.
The concept of point of care with a mobile cart at the bedside go “hand-in-hand” so the cart “must fi t like a glove,” according to Ian Loper, Vice President, DSI. In fact, in 2020, Loper recalls that his company experienced a “medical cart super cycle” driven more by COVID-19 than by product innova- tion alone. “During the first half
of last year most of our customers realized they were not tooled to handle an uptick in [personal pro-
10 April 2021 • HEALTHCARE PURCHASING NEWS •
hpnonline.com Ian Loper
tective equipment] supply levels,” Loper noted. “Enclosed security and PPE carts in patient care areas were in high demand, and the key purchasing requirements for the product group were lockable, clean- able, protectable, mobile, reliable and it must be delivered ASAP. “Prior to COVID, the ability to move critical supplies within a single cart from point A to point B was important but once COVID hit, the needs for speed, mobility and fl exibility hit the top of the priority list,” Loper continued. “It was ‘go time,’ and healthcare workers needed support. Some customers were scrambling like never before looking for specialized carts to be able to handle the surge in patients.” Product lead times became mission- critical for DSI, which accelerated produc- tion to less than one week, according to Loper. “Specialized carts, such as isolation, bedside, PPE and temperature-controlled COVID vaccine carts became essential pieces of equipment to help the frontline workers save lives and get the job done,” he added. Carts and workstations must refl ect the needs of the end users and their aims, according to Brian Hazelwood, Marketing Manager, Midmark. “Frontline workers need
to be more effi cient, and to do this they need equip- ment that is designed to help them,” Hazelwood said.
To wit, Hazelwood cites two government studies
Brian Hazelwood
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