Nurses use them every day and they literally touch almost every patient — the choice of bedside products is an integral part of consumer-focused care.
To ensure front-line employees, such as nurses and others have a say in choosing products like hospital beds, IV catheters, transfer devices and other similar items, Texas Health Resources started the Bedside Products Selection Committee in January 2017.
“I’m passionate about (working with the committee) because when I was an operating room director I did not have the depth of knowledge I do now,” said Karen Robbins, M.S.N., R.N., CPA, program director of clinical services, supply chain, who is chairperson of the committee. “Oftentimes it felt like supply chain was just telling you what to use. We’re encouraging the committee members to get the word out that we want the feedback.”
New hospital beds
The committee’s biggest achievement to date: Choosing new hospital beds for the system.
Texas Health has 3,022 beds systemwide. The life cycle of a bed is 10 to 12 years and 60 percent of the fleet is more than 11 years old.
The system had several bed fairs during which Texas Health staff and consumers could try out various brands of new beds. The committee members also attended and rated the features that were most important for patient and staff safety and consumer satisfaction.
“Their final vote really impacted what direction we went in,” Karen said.
“It was overwhelming when you started looking at all the features of the beds available today. In the end you wanted to incorporate many of the features from all of the beds.”
For nurses, “the patient safety features were very important and the comfort of the mattress was another important consideration when looking at the beds,” Karen said.
The contract was awarded, and a plan has begun for bed replacement, which will take place over the next three to five years, she said. Texas Health Denton, which had the oldest beds, will be one of the first hospitals to receive the new beds.
More products
Other products the committee has looked at include disposable apparel for behavioral health patients, patient lateral transfer devices, disposable versus reusable pulse oximeter probes, pressure infusion bags, external female catheters and oral care products.
“As we standardize across the system, it’s really important to get every viewpoint you can,” Karen said. “It really makes for a smoother rollout of new products. In the end, it’s best for the patient because we all know what’s going on.”
Other nurses on the committee are enthusiastic about their roles.
Valerie Pemberton, B.S.N., R.N, CWOCN, CFCN is a certified wound ostomy continence nurse at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas who is on the committee.
“Last month there was an issue about oral care, for ICU patients and they needed somebody to do a trial. I connected them, and Dallas did the trial, so Dallas will have a say,” she said.
“And there’s always people you can go to about things.”
Clifton Washek, R.N. at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Denton, said, “I’ve really enjoyed it. It’s really given me the opportunity to see how the whole process works, like the way supply chain really listens to the concerns about how changing products can change patient care.”
(Pictured: Members of the Bedside Products Selection Committee meet to consider new or different products.)
By Judy Wiley • Posted August 6, 2019
