Case Study

Reduce medical uniform purchase costs

SHEBA MEDICAL CENTER deploys Polytex workwear management solutions to reduce medical uniform purchase costs, improve efficiency, improve staff satisfaction and increase hygiene levels.

Background

Sheba Medical Center at Tel HaShomer is Israel’s national hospital. Ranked among the top 10 hospitals in the world by Newsweek in 2020, it has a global reputation as a center of medical innovation and excellence. Operated by a staff of 9400, it handles more than 1 million patient visits annually.

scrubs dispenser, scrub machines - Sheba Hospital building

Top Five Achievements

Using Polytex technology, Sheba Medical Center was able to:

  1. Reduce uniform purchase costs by 45% annually
  2. Align with hospital strategy of adopting innovation to improve efficiency
  3. Gain workers’ committee support for pooled uniforms and automation
  4. Improve staff satisfaction
  5. Increase hygiene levels
The Chaim Sheba Medical Center at Tel HaShomer, also Tel HaShomer Hospital, is the largest hospital in Israel, selects Polytex for their workwear management system

Customer Testimonials

I truly believe in the Polytex system! It’s super-easy to learn how to operate it independently, and I can now monitor and control all my inventory. Implementing Polytex helped us save up to 45% of our inventory costs

Anat Shohat

Director of the Textile Department, Sheba Medical Center

Customer Needs

Uniforms at Sheba Medical Center used to be personal items. All staff had to go to a single basement storeroom to collect and return their clothing. The process was time-wasting and frustrating: the storeroom had limited opening hours; inventory had to be kept high;
tracking the uniforms was nearly impossible; and lost uniforms added huge costs every year. Additionally, ensuring proper hygiene was difficult because some staff members chose to launder their uniforms in their home washing machines. Sheba Medical Center needed a better
process to reduce costs and inventory and ensure clean, hygienic uniforms are available for all.

Requirements

  • Move from personal to pooled uniforms: To
    reduce inventory requirements and enable proper tracking and control.
  • Increase efficiency and staff convenience:
    Provide 24/7 access to clean uniforms close to the various departments, to save staff time and hassle.
  • Improve workwear hygiene: Ensure all uniforms
    are cleaned in the hospital’s external laundry which is equipped with industrial laundry equipment that can disinfect and clean at high temperatures.

The Solution

To address its workwear challenges, Sheba Medical Center chose to implement a fully automated total care workwear management solution from Polytex, taking the following steps:

  • Moved from personal items to inventory in sizes: The workwear was redesigned by a well-known local fashion designer, with input from staff, and made available in sizes ranging from XXS to XXL.
  • Ran a pilot program for automated uniform management: A hospital scrub dispensing unit and return unit were installed in the Rehabilitation department as a pilot program, followed by two other departments.
  • Fast ramp-up to multiple departments: Sheba Medical Center implemented a total of 20 stations around the hospital. Staff in the Rehabilitation, Geriatric, Maternity, Children’s, Acute Care, ICU, Laboratories, Operating rooms, and Coronavirus Emergency Care departments now have 24/7 access to clean uniforms. The hospital also plans to implement Polytex dispensing and return units for Logistics, Cleaning, Technical, and temporary staff.
  • Nurtured wide engagement: Recognizing that adopting innovative work processes and systems is not easy for some people, the project leaders actively coordinated with employee committees to change mindsets and years of habit.

Results

Moving to automated scrubs distribution and management dramatically reduced uniform costs and enabled accurate usage tracking and high operational efficiency.

Significant annual cost savings
With pooled instead of personal uniforms and the ability to monitor and track usage and returns, Sheba Medical Center has reduced its annual uniform purchasing costs by 45%.
Clean uniforms around the clock
More than 4500 doctors, nurses, and lab workers – over half of the entire hospital staff – now have clean and hygienic uniforms waiting for them in convenient locations around the campus, whenever they need.
Increased Convenience
Having Polytex units in multiple locations saves hospital employees the time and hassle of walking to the central storeroom. The easy access to clean scrubs and the updated design together made the move popular with the staff and has improved their satisfaction.
Higher Level of Hygiene
With multiple uniform dispensing and return stations and Polytex’ cloud-based web application for workwear usage tracking and inventory management, it’s easier to enforce hygiene standards.

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