At Modular Devices Inc. we pride ourselves on offering every customer specific solutions for their temporary cath and vascular lab needs. While other companies may provide a short list of “off the shelf” products to those interested – well, we don’t subscribe to this “one size fits all” approach. Instead, we spend time consulting and working with each and every customer in order to understand their specific situation up front. Many projects aren’t as cut and dry as picking out a common solution, such as a mobile cath lab for a short-term project, or a larger Modular Lab for a long-term engagement. Often, plans can change mid-stream – when a short-term project unexpectedly turns into a longer-term undertaking, or when a new group of physicians become part of the staff. In cases like these, Modular Devices has the ability to adjust with our customer’s changing needs and offer flexible and customizable alternative solutions. One project where the scenario changed multiple times is an interim cath lab project at Summit Regional Medical Center. This project started in 2011 and is currently on-going. As Summit Health’s needs have changed, MDI has provided a number of different interim lab solutions along the way.1. MOBILE LAB
Need: Emergent
Solution: Mobile Cardiac Cath Lab
Summit originally contacted us to begin planning for the use of a large, Modular Lab to use for 12-18 months, until construction was completed on their new in-house cath lab. The project was to start a few months down the road, so there was plenty of time to prepare for the delivery and installation, and smoothly transition into the modular cath lab. But things didn’t go quite as planned. Less than 2 weeks after first contacting MDI, Summit Health had a roof leak where water fell onto their x-ray system cabinetry and damaged the system beyond repair. So instead of planning for a future project, the situation became an immediate need to keep their cardiac service line operational without interruption. They contacted us quickly, and our team made plans to immediately ship out and deliver a mobile cath lab. The lab arrived just a few days later, and their facilities were up-and-running procedures in the mobile lab with minimal downtime.
2. EXCHANGE FOR MODULAR LAB
Need: Larger lab for long-term use
Solution: Upgrade to Modular Cath Lab
The mobile cath lab trailer was a great solution to get Summit Health back in service right away, but it wasn’t their preferred long-term solution. What they really needed was a larger Modular Lab to last them for the 12-18 months until the new labs were operational. The mobile lab could work as a stop-gap solution, but the added size and space of the lab was what they really wanted. Summit planned to make the Modular Lab the best long-term solution possible-to make it look and feel more like an-house lab and not like a temporary lab.
Summit Health decided to build a corridor directly connecting the Modular Lab to the main hospital with finished walls, floors, ceilings and HVAC. This corridor would provide better access to the cath lab and a seamless experience for their patients, who could enter the lab without ever knowing they were leaving the main hospital building. We assisted their team with drawings and site visits, and put a plan together to coordinate delivery of the lab with their newly constructed corridor.
Just a few short months later, the lab was approved and delivered to their site. The hospital had some work to finish on the connecting corridor before being ready to use the Modular Lab, so for a few weeks there were two labs on-site. Summit Health continued to operate out of the mobile lab until the corridor work was finished and they were ready to begin using the lab.
3. ON-SITE MODULAR LAB EQUIPMENT UPGRADE
Need: Physician request for equipment upgrade
Solution: On-site upgrade of x-ray system to GE Innova 3100 system.
After six months of working in the Modular Lab, Summit Health called with a new challenge. They were trying to recruit a new group of cardiologists out of Phoenix that would bring additional business to the hospital-but these new doctors wanted to use specific x-ray technology-a GE Innova 3100, 31cm digital flat detector cardiac & peripheral imaging system. Summit needed to know if we could provide this particular x-ray system and, if so, could they exchange and upgrade their lab again.
This seemed like a simple request, but the fact of the matter was that what they wanted didn’t exist. There was no modular cath lab with a GE Innova 3100 system available anywhere. Fortunately, their timing was impeccable; MDI had just purchased a GE Innova 3100 system and hadn’t yet decided where it would be placed. We could have installed the Innova 3100 system in a different Modular Lab entirely, and get the other lab approved in AZ within a month, but the hospital had already invested in building the connecting corridor, and replacing the lab would have required extra time and work.
After consulting with Summit Health on how to upgrade the Modular Lab with the shortest turnaround possible and with minimal disruption to service, we came up with a different solution. Instead of exchanging lab buildings, the current lab would stay in-place, and we would perform an on-site equipment upgrade at the hospital. This made sense for Summit because their lab and connecting corridor would remain intact, but more importantly the on-site upgrade would take much less time than swapping out an entire lab.
Since Summit Health’s Modular Lab would be out of commission for a few weeks during the upgrade process, the last piece of the plan was to provide (another) mobile lab for their use until the lab upgrade process was complete. Shortly after agreeing on this plan, our team arrived with the Innova 3100, followed by the mobile lab, and we immediately started on the equipment upgrade. Within a few months’ time, the lab was up and running with the upgraded GE Innova 3100 system. This was over a year ago – the new doctors came on-board as planned, and they are planning to move into their soon-to-be completed building addition which will house two brand-new cath lab suites.
With our adaptable, varied lab solutions and our team’s attention to detail; you can be sure MDI has a customized plan to serve your specific situation-even if your situation isn’t set in stone. With labs and equipment at the ready, Modular Devices has the solution for your short or long-term challenges, even if they change along the way.
