Upping the security quotient
While employee safety is undeniably important, savvy storage vendors know security is also on the minds of their healthcare customers. Not only are organizations working hard to prevent costly product and equipment loss due to theft, they are also concerned about unlawful access to narcotics – both of which have necessitated the development of more secure carts and storage cabinets.

"Keeping inventory supplies locked is an increasingly important issue in healthcare. Buyers are purchasing more keyless entry carts for convenience and ease of use," said Bennett, adding that such mechanisms eliminate the need to carry keys and the risk of losing them when they’re needed most. InnerSpace’s Harmony V Keyless Entry cart features a programmable automatic relock and a manual key override. There’s also a keyless entry option for InnerSpace’s closed storage systems with roll-top doors. The keypad is installed at eyelevel, which prevents users from bending down to unlock the cabinet or cart.

Waterloo Elite lightweight aluminum

Other vendors have their own version of the keyless lock. Spacesaver offers its award-winning code-access TouchPad Release. Armstrong’s A-SMART All-Aluminum Push-Button Cart features a push-button lock with key override, while its new ClearView Security Drug Box comes with multiple locking options and allows for a clear view of inventory. Artromick’s carts feature an automatic relock mechanism and the company also offers individual locks on different drawers. A wireless remote security control, which is now in production, is Artromick’s latest addition.

Herman Miller also recently introduced a keyless entry feature, and Lyon Workspace Products’ new Visible Storage Cabinets feature a three-point locking device for enhanced security. Waterloo offers three centralized locking options: a key lock, a lever/breakaway lock and a push-button lock; a new electronic lock is coming soon. The company also offers individual locks, which aids in the inventory process and boosts efficiency, according to John Bergmann, vice president of Waterloo.

InnerSpace Harmony V Keyless Entry

"Individual locks allow for greater flexibility because you can designate specific locked drawers for items that require greater security, such as narcotics," he explained, adding that using individual locks in conjunction with breakaway seals allows users to know precisely which drawer has been opened and should be inventoried.

Focus on flexibility
With an ongoing emphasis on the bottom line, healthcare customers are also seeking flexible, configurable carts and storage units that can make better use of wasted space and maximize investments by pulling double-duty in different areas of the facility.

Such was the case for Lincoln-based Nebraska Heart Hospital. To make the most use of space in the O.R. sterile supply and catheterization lab central storage areas — and allow more items to be stored closer to point of use — the facility chose Spacesaver’s powered high-density mobile systems that could effectively double the supply storage capacity in both areas. When the hospital requested pullout racks to hang cardiac catheters, Spacesaver designed a system with special pullout racks, as well as custom doors so the catheters could be easily located right from the cardiac catheterization lab procedure room.

Pedigo Products supply cart

Nebraska Heart Hospital also looked to Spacesaver to provide products with virtually unlimited functional configurations and aesthetic packages. Adjustable shelving was particularly critical for the facility. "Medical supply vendors will change the size of their boxes at a whim and without notice," noted Jackie Mendoza, R.N., materials manager who worked with Spacesaver on the storage plan for the new 92,000-square foot facility. "It’s important that our staff can easily adjust shelving heights to the boxes as necessary. We also standardized our bins and dividers so we can interchange them throughout the hospital."

BioFit Engineered Products

Upgrading to customized storage units also paid big dividends for the surgical services department at Peninsula Regional Medical Center in Salisbury, MD. The facility purchased seven customized mobile systems to organize and store sterile supplies, cases and surgical instruments in the O.R. core of the surgical services department. The Spacesaver mobile systems replaced more than 70 old wire carts and saved critical space that allowed equipment and supplies to be stored at the point of use within the O.R.

"Finding items quickly is critical," said Paul McGuire, surgical services manager for Peninsula Regional. "Three to four minutes can be an eternity in the O.R. With the new systems, the staff can now easily go in and get what they need, rather than searching the carts."

S&S MedCart point-of-care

Other leading vendors have also become committed to meeting healthcare organizations’ requests for flexible, customizable storage units and accessories. InnerSpace, InterMetro, Pedigo Products, Artromick, BioFit, Waterloo, Armstrong Medical, Herman Miller and Lyon Workspace Products are just some of the manufacturers offering a broad range of shell designs, shelf and tray configurations, and customized accessories. Pedigo Products’ operating room cabinets are adaptable to custom installations and feature adjustable stainless steel door hinges and stainless steel shelves that can be adjusted in half-inch increments. Shelves on Pedigo’s distribution carts can be adjusted every four inches.

Herman Miller’s procedure carts are designed and built to individual customer specifications and can be easily reconfigured to accommodate different use requirements, resulting in continued maximized productivity and extended product life. "With a huge assortment of components and accessories, we’re able to build a cart for virtually any application," said Mark Roberts, marketing director for Herman Miller. "This modular feature also allows customers to convert their carts."

IRSG Implant Storage System

The same customization platform for procedure carts can be easily applied to mobile computing carts, Roberts added. Herman Miller’s Co/Struc clinical system can be configured to any workstation, such as a pharmacy pick station, med prep at the nurses’ station or even a lab bench. It offers overhead storage in either open or enclosed models, and modular storage can also be added below work surfaces.

These days, even fixed storage equipment is moveable, thanks to the ability to add casters to the products as needed. Similarly, innovative attachment features allow accessories to be easily added or interchanged. InterMetro’s Starsys line, for example, includes tradtional procedure carts, but also ranges from high density storge cabinets to modular work centers – both of which are very popular with wheels and include interchangeable components and accessory attachments that can be made in the field.

Lyon Workspace Visible Storage Cabinet

Another add-on that’s gaining momentum is antimicrobial protection on shelving, work surfaces, slide-outs and even casters. Numerous vendors are either offering antimicrobial carts or eyeing the possibility. CompuCaddy is considering adding an antimicrobial to some of its surfaces and keyboards and Waterloo is currently investigating the benefits of antimicrobials in the medical cart segment, according to Bergmann.

Microban antimicrobial protection is molded into the shelf mats of InterMetro’s MetroMax shelving system, as well as the company’s new Deep Ledge and BC Series polymer utility carts.

InnerSpace Easy Reach Scope Manager

"The protection helps keep the products cleaner between cleanings," said Dropper. Still, he said the protection may not be a sound investment for some applications. An antimicrobial makes sense when transporting or storing sterile items, or on human contact points (i.e., handles, doorknobs, work surfaces, etc.), he noted, but the benefit-to-cost reward will be low for other applications, such as for surgical case carts, as they are sterilized as often as several times a day.

Even casters are undergoing antimicrobial treatment. Cambridge, ON-based MedCaster can manufacture antimicrobially-treated casters for medical carts, which helps prevent bacteria from adhering to – and growing on – them during transport. "This would be ideally suited in [the O.R.] and if you’re moving carts from one patient’s room to another," explained MedCaster Product Engineer Jim Martin. He added that the antimicrobially-treated casters can be added to an existing cart as well as incorporated into new purchases.

Armstrong Medical ClearView Security Drug Box

High-tech storage on horizon
In the near future, healthcare facilities may find their carts and storage units becoming even more advanced, with products being designed to link with facilities’ inventory tracking systems.

Bergmann said he envisions instant, real-time supply monitoring and tracking capabilities that tie into a centralized database. "If a nurse opens drawer number two, which hold bandages, for example, that could be tracked on a central database. That would allow inventory to be easily tracked and would make replenishing supplies more efficient."

Wireless technology that would allow carts to be easily moved – without being tied down with computer cords and plugs — may also be around the corner, predicted Likens.

While it’s difficult to predict how long it will take such high-tech capabilities to hit the cart and storage segment, vendors believe their customers won’t have too long to wait.