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National Materials Management Week is Oct. 7-13
A small sign hanging near the entrance to Materials Management reads: “Good enough is never good enough.”
The motto is fitting for this ambitious department of 85 employees that operates under strict daily deadlines to make sure BWHers across the hospital receive the supplies they need for patient care and research.
“We have many long-term employees here who really take pride in their work,” manager Paula Gorman said. “They stay focused on the work because there is such a short window of time to do the job.”
To meet the hospital’s needs, the four arms of Materials Management—Office Services, Linen Distribution, Receiving and Supply Support—work like a machine in handling and distributing millions of materials.
The Supply Support branch works around the clock to replenish gauze, IV sets, IV solutions, trays, kits and other supplies in inpatient areas and certain ambulatory care areas, including the ED, Dialysis and Endoscopy. The team assesses each area and orders are sent electronically to a distribution center in Franklin. The supplies arrive at BWH five hours later for the second shift to stock the shelves—a phenomenal turnaround, according to director Andrew Madden.
“We’re one of just a few hospitals in the nation that operates on a Just-in-Time system,” he said. “It’s great because it cuts down on the inventory we store on site, although we keep three to four days worth of supplies on site in case of an emergency.”
Success is a challenge, though, as the inpatient population for tomorrow is always uncertain. “We’re pretty good at estimating, but it’s still the crystal ball syndrome,” Madden said. “We get as close as we can, which is very close.”
The Receiving arm of Materials Management covers the docks at 89 Fenwood Rd., 20 Shattuck St. and 221 Longwood. Ave., handling about 1,500 packages per day. The department uses an innovative bar coding system to scan the packages, track their location and process them for delivery to the correct department. “We have a 99 percent delivery rate on any given date, which is awesome,” said Gorman.
Under the Office Services umbrella, the Mail Room receives, processes and delivers 140,000 pieces of mail a month and also provides Audio Visual technical support and manages conference bookings.
Linen Distribution delivers 300 carts of clean linen to support the needs of the hospital seven days a week for a total of 9 million pounds of sheets, blankets, towels, johnnies, scrubs and lab coats per year.
“The work is all customer-service focused,” said Therese Breen, manager. “These employees always demonstrate kindness and caring, and, even though they don’t work directly with patients, they are very dedicated to the patients.”