The majority of hospitals across Canada face the significant task of modernization, from medical equipment and technology to infrastructure. We’ve had the great fortune to create impactful outcomes across many of these modernization transitions over the years. Recently we had the unique opportunity to support the management team at Penticton Regional Hospital (PRH) with the task of helping to design storage spaces and clinical carts throughout an entire new patient care tower.
A key challenge for this project was an extremely limited equipment team. And although they were very capable and dedicated, there were only two procurement staff members from PRH tasked with the mammoth job of evaluating what all departments needed. Procurement is already a daunting task, made more so when you throw in the complexity of making sure each and every cart and storage space is configured properly for its application. Recognizing this, PRH asked Forsyth Healthcare to lead the entire product selection process thanks to our core expertise in custom cart solutions, and our intimate knowledge of the products offered by multiple brands.
The scope of products included:
- Wire carts and shelving
- Clinical procedure carts
- Crash carts
- Case carts
- Supply cabinets
- Mobile workstations
- Utility carts
- Pharmacy fridges
Project Strategy
Our goal for this project was to curate the most relevant product recommendations leading to spaces that outperform all expectations. This meant employing our trusted process, where we first meet with all of the stakeholders to understand their unique needs, clinical space and key challenges. We started the process by connecting with department managers and staff to assess their existing carts to determine:
- what worked well,
- what could be improved,
- what new carts would meet their future needs.
Getting this phase right meant that we were able to make sure that every single space and cart was configured correctly for the immediate need and application, and was able to be adaptable to future needs as well.
Choosing the right brand matters
Just as important as selecting the right brand for each application is choosing ones that can deliver accurately, timely and without damage. We shipped over 22,000 individual parts as part of this project. Less than ten parts were missing or damaged (less than 0.05%), which is a truly remarkable performance for a project of this magnitude. Our knowledge and strong relationships with our manufacturer partners allowed us to implement our solutions within the intended timeline.
Amongst the trusted brands we delivered:
- qwikSIGHT
- Super Adjustable Super Erecta
- Flexline
- InnerSpace
- Pedigo
- Starsys
- FlexShelf
- Lionville
Here are just a few images from the project:
It’s storage, made simple
We helped the redevelopment team navigate a very complex process thoroughly, from specification right through to delivery and implementation. More importantly, we were able to ensure 100% end-user satisfaction. Here’s what our client had to say:
When you move from your current hospital to a new portion there are many things to consider and storage is one of them. We decided it would be better to have someone do an audit of how things are currently installed, what could be moved over, what was fixed and therefore not moveable and what was required in the new space. New storage spaces, patient volumes, new top up rotation or even having it new to the department all played into the storage type and qty. We awarded the audit and specification writing to Forsyth Medical as he was the vendor we knew could do the job and he understood what we needed to accomplish.
Shad Forsyth has the flexibility to use any vendor to complete the storage needs, where others may choose to stick with their brand and not be able to deliver the best storage solution. In the end we ended up having all the correct items required for the storage of medical items as well the transporting of medical supplies throughout the new tower.
Randy Wolczuk – Capital Planning Coordinator, Interior Health Authority
At Forsyth Healthcare, we are on a mission to deliver the easiest end-to-end cart and storage solutions experience for hospitals and clinics across Canada. Contact us to learn more about our services and see the full range of products we work with here.
