3 2
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than $10,000.
8. Use reusable sharps containers
Reusable sharps containers can replace disposable plastic sharps
containers, and further reduce RMW and supply expense in the OR.
Third-party companies collect full reusable sharps containers, then
empty and disinfect them before they're returned for reuse. Borgess
Medical Center in Kalamazoo, Mich., made the switch to reusable
sharps containers in 2007. The transition has enabled the facility to
reduce its RMW by 10.5 tons each year for an annual savings of $11,000.
The reusable sharps container program at Illinois Masonic Hospital in
Chicago reduced its RMW by 10 tons and saved the organization
$13,000 in 2010.
9. Focus on energy efficiency
Reducing air exchange rates and adjusting temperature parameters
in unoccupied ORs, as well as replacing halogen bulbs with LED light-
ing, can save your facility $2,000 to $3,200 per OR per year
(osmag.net/PH5Uon). Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in
Basking Ridge, N.J., implemented an air acuity and HVAC setback sys-
tem throughout all of its 28 ORs, reducing air exchanges from 25 to 12
per hour when the rooms are unoccupied. The project alone reduces
the facility's energy use by 652,150 kWh and 39,741 therms each year,
leading to $91,933 in annual savings. Further energy reduction can be
achieved with the use of motion sensors. By installing HVAC occupan-
cy sensors in 2 of its new digitally-controlled ORs, Providence St.
Peter Hospital in Olympia, Wash., reduced its energy use by 25,000
kWh and 2,460 therms and is saving $4,000 dollars per year.
B U S I N E S S A D V I S O R
