Rome Memorial Hospital
Daniels saved Rome Hospital $10,000 on their sharps spend this past year and reduced biohazardous medical waste and sharps handling labor by nearly 50%.
Fred White, Facilities Manager Rome HospitalThe Challenge
1. Competitors' hidden fees and pricing issues.
2. Concerns with back injuries double stacking regulated medical waste totes. An estimated average cost of a back injury can be anywhere from $37,000 to $147,000.
3. Safety issues with current sharps system (self service account) & sharps containers improperly located in some of the rooms.
4. The former company was trying to force Rome into a full pharmaceutical program with the tech sorting through pharmaceutical bins.
5. Challenges with recycling program in operating room.
Our Approach
STEP 1
The Daniels team met with the Rome Hospital team to fully understand the issues they were facing and their current "pain points" with the existing vendor and the general safety and wellbeing of their staff. We acquired as much information on the issues as possible to identify the root cause.
STEP 2
The Daniels team conducted a full on-site assessment of the facility, it's current waste management practices, observing the current practice of double-stacking biohazardous medical waste bins and the risks it posed to staff, citing container heights in each room, and mapping the movement of waste as it flowed through the facility to identify possible efficiency improvements. As part of the site assessment, we met with each person involved in management and movement of healthcare waste in the facility to understand their experience, individual pain-points and suggestions for change. This in-depth review of the current program issues helped to frame the solutions required at a full-facility level.
STEP 3
Once all information had been compiled, we put forward a full deployment plan that addressed all of the current safety, cost and operational concerns the hospital was facing. Our submission included not only a proposal for more aptly suited and sized containers to suit volume demand, but also a review of waste-flow within the hospital, remedying container heights to reduce sharps injury risk, implementing an education program to train staff on safer practices and more effective segregation, and setting up the correct processes for the management of each wastestream to ensure compliance. We reviewed our deployment plan with the Rome facilities manager and leadership for approval.
The Solution
1. Recycling in operating room. Changed the containers for solid waste and recycling layout so it was more friendly for recycling and added our device recovery program. We also educated all levels of the Rome Team.
2. Back injuries issues. When we took over the account we had the staff use our 96 gallon totes on wheels to eliminate need double stacking, provide mobile accessibility, and avert injury risk.
3. Pharmaceutical program. We provided custom designed education posters for Rome Hospital staff, in-serviced and set up a hazardous waste company with minimum pick ups.
4. Sharps safety concerns. We up-sized the sharps containers, rolling out the Daniels Sharpsmart system, and relocated any containers that were not installed at correct heights or in the correct locations.
5. Pricing issues with competitor. We were able to change the program to per turn vs. flat rate. So effectively Rome Hospital now pay for what they use.
The Outcome
1. Recycling in operating room. Improved the labor and cost efficiencies of the recycling program dramatically; Being the biggest generator of waste, the implementation of our device recovery program has dramatically reduced Rome's spend on 16 gallon sharps containers.
2. Back injuries issues. We have reduced the turns of handling regulated medical waste bins from 1,099 to 379 per year. This change reduced medical waste handling labor by over 50% and reduced the facility's risk profile in back and other labor-induced injuries.
3. Pharmaceutical program. We have saved Rome Hospital significant spend by enabling them to handle the program internally versus the program that was being forced by the competition.
4. Sharps safety concerns. After installation of the Daniels Sharpsmart collectors, the hospital reported zero container related sharps incidents. We have also reduced the usage of containers from the previous program from 3,481 turns to 1933 turns with the Daniels Sharpsmart system; this equalled an almost 50% reduction, together with eliminating handling risk.
5. Pricing issues with competitor. With a per turn rate, our costing model saved Rome Hospital $10,000 on their sharps spend this past year. We also reduced hospital-staff labor dedicated to RMW and sharps movement by nearly 50%.