Replacement Batteries for Hospitals & Medical Offices - Case Study
Background
Hospitals and medical facilities are critical elements in keeping our healthcare system running. Many are working overtime to keep things running and even saving people’s lives. Those who have seen hospitals and medical facilities in action know that there are a lot of moving parts and a lot of those moving parts need power and backup power. Our first medical facility client showed us their list of requirements and it was extensive and it was only a small facility. Our next medical facility was a medium sized hospital and while the list was extreme, their budget was higher than we needed, even without our wholesale pricing. So you can just imagine what they thought when we told them that we offer bulk pricing discounts.
Medical Offices Buying in Bulk
Medical facilities and hospitals have a lot of equipment that need batteries like infusion pumps, heart monitors, blood analyzers but also a lot of UPS requirements for offices and backups for critical equipment like intensive care and operating theater. Additionally, backup generators require batteries to help them start when the power goes out.
“When BatteryClerk showed us the cost even without their wholesale pricing, I had my doubts and said I needed to check their batteries first. We tested several and they all performed incredibly well so we went for it. We haven’t looked back.” – Medical Facility Operations
Depending on the size of venue, some hospitals can purchase up to 10,000 batteries a year and regularly do checks to make sure they perform when required. Between SLA and lithium-ion batteries, that can be a significant cost so the BatteryClerk wholesale replacement battery program can be significant.
In healthcare, correct battery maintenance is critical but so often far too low on the priority list for staff, so having a process in place for testing, documenting and replacing is highly recommended. Our account managers can certainly help with the replacement process.
Another key factor with our work with hospitals is assisting in recycling their batteries when they are finished with them. A good deal of components in SLA batteries can be recycled so with organizations that order a lot of batteries from us, we are more than willing to work with them to make recycling easier.
“While our medical facility is small, we offer critical services. After one incident where our backup battery failed to start our backup generator due to a power outage, we had a good hard look at our process after underestimating its value. We’ve been working with BatteryClerk for several years now and will never underestimate the value batteries provide for our facility.” – Doctors Clinic
A big concern for managing a replacement battery program for facilities is often:
1. Low priority – it takes time to manage a testing, performance and replacement program and so it often gets pushed off.
2. Lack of training – with so much equipment, knowing what to look for to know when a battery needs replacing can be tricky. Additionally, knowing where to find a replacement battery that fits and operates the machinery can be a challenge.
3. Lack of knowledge – often the task of managing a replacement battery program falls on the maintenance team or administrative officers. As a result, most typically do not even know when a battery needs to be replaced. While confidence in a battery is high in the first year, every year after that can become questionable and sometimes it can be too late.
Replacement battery diagnostics and maintenance is often low on the list of priority for hospitals and medical facilities, much lower than it should be. At BatteryClerk, we work with a lot of organizations that buy in bulk from us through our wholesale program so we appreciate the challenges that they face. We take some of the headache away from ordering and budgeting and see our role as an important part of the process. Given its importance, this is a process that should be given greater priority.
