Memorial Health taps Medline to enhance operating room efficiency and safety

Northfield, Ill., Nov. 17, 2021 – Memorial Health recently engaged with Medline to assess and deliver perioperative solutions at Springfield Memorial Hospital, formerly known as Memorial Medical Center, in an effort to enhance patient care and outcomes in the operating room.  

Springfield Memorial Hospital, a Level 1 trauma center that performs over 18,000 surgical procedures a year, had a mission to evolve its operating room practices and drive efficiencies to improve safety and allow the hospital’s frontline workers to provide better care for patients. It is an acute care Magnet® hospital for nursing excellence that offers comprehensive inpatient and outpatient services to residents of 40 central and southern Illinois counties. Since 1970, it has also been a teaching hospital affiliated with Southern Illinois University School of Medicine for the purpose of providing clinical training for residents. 

 Operating room inefficiencies quickly became exacerbated for healthcare systems across the nation with the onset of COVID-19. Navigating through one of the most difficult times in healthcare history, Springfield Memorial Hospital was committed to not only tackling these challenges, but taking care to the next level by re-evaluating its processes.  

 Medline was able to help through its new Peri-Op Performance Program™, which consisted of an assessment of Springfield Memorial Hospital’s perioperative practice, identifying opportunities to enhance operations in supply chain and clinical outcomes and overall help the hospital achieve its goals for the operating room.  A key element of this program is to significantly increase efficiency and productivity, with the results being measured through ongoing key performance indicators as projects conclude. 

 “When Medline first presented the perioperative program to us, we were at a place where we were looking for help and assistance in optimizing our operations,” said Brianne Schramm, director, perioperative nursing at Springfield Memorial Hospital. “Being able to perform the same things with less cost, more efficiency, but producing the same optimal outcomes for our patients, is what we strive for daily.”  

 Medline’s Peri-Op Performance Program provides a comprehensive and personalized approach by carefully assessing an organization’s goals, initiatives and practices. The multi-faceted plan created for Springfield Memorial Hospital was laser-focused on product and procedural recommendations to improve supply chain efficiencies, such as a reduction in sterile processing case cards, instrumentation tray and suture management redundancies and additional solutions regarding skin health and hand hygiene.  

 “We’re so deeply involved in the day-to-day operations that we don’t necessarily have full insight into what organizations like Medline can offer us,” said Lexanne Darwent, director, perioperative quality and support services at Springfield Memorial Hospital. “The Medline team comes in from the outside and provides us the opportunity to take a deeper dive at some of our practices and solutions, including some of the problems we’ve experienced day-to-day that we just don’t know how to get out of.” 

The Peri-Op Performance Program also focuses on connecting the dots in an organization, providing a more holistic approach to tackling the biggest challenges facing operating rooms today. The experts at Medline strategically craft a plan leveraging industry-leading solutions and products that impact an organization’s bottom line. 

“We developed the Peri-Op Performance Program because we continue to see the pressures that our perioperative leaders face with managing so many competing priorities,” said Kim Haines, perioperative clinical program director at Medline. “The operating room is such a multi-faceted environment with lots of complexities. We’re honored to have partnered with Memorial Health, as they wanted to be at the forefront of innovation in the operating room in tackling complex challenges that drive better outcomes for their community.”  

 Learn how Medline is optimizing perioperative performance through its Peri-Op Performance Program .

 About Medline
Medline is a healthcare company: a manufacturer, distributor and solutions provider focused on improving the overall operating performance of healthcare. Medline works with both the country’s largest healthcare systems and independent facilities across the continuum of care to provide the clinical and supply chain resources required for long-term financial viability in delivering high quality care. With the size of one of the country’s largest companies and the agility of a family-owned business, Medline is able to invest in its customers for the long-term and rapidly respond with customized solutions. Headquartered in Northfield, Ill., Medline has 27,000+ employees worldwide, a fleet of more than 1,200 trucks and does business in more than 125 countries. Learn more about Medline at www.medline.com .

 About Memorial Health 
One of the leading healthcare organizations in Illinois, Memorial Health in Springfield is a community-based, not-for-profit organization that provides a full range of inpatient, outpatient, home health, hospice, behavioral health and primary care physician services.  With eight affiliates based in Sangamon and the neighboring counties, MH delivers high-quality, patient-centered care in support of its mission to improve lives and build stronger communities through better health.

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