Make the most of your Storage Space

If it's been awhile since you took a hard look at your storage area, maybe now's the time to revisit it. Everyone dreads "cleaning out the closet." But space in medical facilities comes at a premium, so any opportunity to use it more efficiently is worth considering. More specifically, a close examination may reveal ways to improve supply management, improving cash flow and ensuring that you are prepared for each procedure. In this article, we provide some advice from facility managers on how to make the most of your storage space.

Keep supplies to a minimum:
Doing this not only keeps clutter out of your storage area; it also improves cash flow, as you get to keep more money in the bank and less on your shelves.

An effective "low-tech" method is the "par numbers" system, used by Monica Young, RN, patient care manager at the Ambulatory Procedure Center at Lankenau Hospital, in Merion, Pa.

To use it, first estimate how much of each item to keep in stock. The bin in which the item is to be stored is then labeled with that number. Your inventory control manager or a staff member should monitor items and adjust par numbers accordingly. And if the number is low, you know it's time to reorder.

Using the system not only helps Ms. Young "right-size" her inventory, it also allows her to make better buying decisions. On a recent inspection of "core," the main supply room in her department, she found that custom eye packs were too plentiful. She noted that some of the doctors who used the packs were operating at the center just once or so a month; with 10, 20 or 30 packs per doctor on the shelf, the par number far exceeded the demand. She decided that she was spending way too much on custom packs, a relative luxury, and made the tentative decision to switch to a standardized pack.

You can reduce your supplies even more by using a "just-in-time" system. Simply wait until you schedule the case, then order the items a day or more before you need them.

Many facility managers are using this system. However, says Donna Quinn of Orthopaedic Surgery Center in Concord, New Hampshire, "There are pros and cons to just-in-time ordering. The pro is you save room. The cons are that you could be paying a lot more in shipping costs, and it can be unpredictable," she says, referring to down-to-the-wire orders and out-of-stock items.

A third way is to set up a frequent-delivery system with your suppliers, says Yvonne Bley, director of clinical operations at Philadelphia's Wills Surgical Network. Her center gets frequent deliveries of items they use most often. In this volume-modified version of the delivery schedule, lots of smaller orders come in on a consistent basis, eliminating major storage concerns, but creating the peace of mind that comes with regular delivery.

Limit the number of storage areas.
Ms. Young recommends keeping supplies in only a few places-one pre-op location, one location in a given OR, one central recovery location-once you take them from sterile or central storage. Consolidation makes it easier to take inventory, and ensures that supplies are always fresh. It could also save money. "If you keep supplies everywhere-in drawers by each bed in recovery, in carts in recovery, in the hallway-then you don't know what you have when it's time to order," says Ms. Young. Often, she notes, items tucked away in drawers have expiration dates, and if they sit in spots that are not well-trafficked, chances are they'll go to waste. Ms. Young suggests that supplies with expiration dates be stocked in procedure and recovery rooms only as needed, or in no more than a few well-trafficked supply spots.

Get the most out of your space.
Paying attention to your storage options may help you use supplies more efficiently and improve accessibility. Some advice:
- Use full-extension drawers and shelves to help eliminate waste, recommends David Salus of InterMetro Industries, which manufactures storage devices. "If the items in the back of a drawer are hard to reach, you forget about them. In a full-extension drawer, you can easily see everything; you also don't need room to put your arm in and rummage around like a regular drawer, so all the available space gets used for supplies." Think visibility and accessibility when considering other storage options as well; lighted cabinets and see-through doors can make accessing supplies much easier.
- Get as many items as you can off the floor and onto shelves or attached to the wall to avoid clutter. Ann Rockwood, manager of Belleair Surgery Center in Clearwater, Fla., suggests mounting the monitors in your recovery area at eye level rather than leaving them on a table next to the bed. It may help in other ways, too. "You can see more looking straight at a monitor, or even up at it, than down on it," she says.
- Look for flexibility in storage systems to allow you to access and update your storage needs. For instance, adjustable shelves are better than non-adjustable ones.
- Keep an eye out for innovative storage solutions. Alisa Byrne, nurse manager of Florida's Mease Countryside Nursing Center, recently discovered bins that are slotted into metal plates that attach to the wall, for smaller supplies. "The bins are not good for heavy things, and the system is not as neat looking as other storage, but you can build your wall the way you want it," she says. She says these units have allowed her to conserve precious floor space. "We eliminated 14 big carts by using the bins," Ms. Byrne says. She has placed the bins around the periphery of the supply room, with carts in the middle.

Every square foot of your facility costs money. Rearranging your storage areas may not only save you in space costs, but lead to time-saving organization as well.