Healthcare is responsible for wasting massive amounts

of resources, and the impact on the environment and

on the quality of healthcare is enormous. At a time when

environmental initiatives are becoming more important and

focus is on improving our healthcare system, sustainability

initiatives are a cornerstone of responsible hospital behavior.

The reprocessing/remanufacturing of medical devices is the single most impactful sustainability initiative currently undertaken by hospitals in the United States.

Stryker Sustainability SolutionsThe idea of reprocessing/remanufacturing is simple:

Single-use medical devices (SUDs) are treated as assets,

not trash. Most SUDs cannot be used again; they must be

thrown away or recycled. However, many SUDs can, with the

right clinical and technical expertise, be remanufactured to

perform at their original level for one or more additional uses.

Stryker Sustainability Solutions (formerly Ascent) is the medical device manufacturer that offers the most extensive and impactful reprocessing/remanufacturing program in North America.

Stryker Sustainability Solutions is dedicated to developing

the safest, most effective remanufacturing practices, so that

hospitals can safely use reprocessed/remanufactured devices

and live up to their responsibilities as environmentally friendly,

patient care focused institutions.

Stryker’s remanufacturing operations are based on state-of-

the-art clinical and technical practices, and its service and

distribution system allow its partners to integrate reprocessing/

remanufacturing seamlessly into their supply chain management

systems.

Stryker Sustainability Solutions, a leader in the medical device

reprocessing industry, has safely reprocessed more than 50

million SUDs. This has saved its customers in excess of $500

million in supply expenses and eliminated more than 10,000

tons from local landfills. In 2010 alone, Stryker Sustainability

Solutions’ 2,000+ hospital and clinic partners have eliminated

more than 6.6 million pounds of medical waste from already

overtaxed landfills by safely using Stryker’s reprocessed

medical devices.

Stryker Sustainability Solutions’ hospital partners demonstrate

an increasing commitment to reprocessing/remanufacturing

medical devices. Using these devices in the operating

room, in the EP cath lab and on the general floor, some

hospitals save $400,000–$500,000 per year in medical

device expenses, and redirect these significant resources to

care quality initiatives by adding nursing staff or upgrading

equipment. Substantial improvements to patient care quality

are achieved this way. At the same time, by participating in

the remanufacturing program, they reduce their amount of

device disposal by as much as 50,000 pounds per year.

A Healthy HospitalReprocessing and Sustainability in Healthcare

What is sustainability in healthcare?Sustainability in healthcare means looking at how scarce

hospital resources are fully utilized and then disposed of in

order to produce the best possible healthcare quality, while

minimizing the negative impact on the environment. Stryker’s

sustainability programs effectively and safely answer

these key sustainability imperatives: Reprocessing and

remanufacturing keep medical devices out of our landfills—

and it allows hospitals to effectively redirect resources from

medical device supplies to initiatives that increase the quality

of care.

Safety comes first in using medical devices. The third-party

reprocessing/remanufacturing industry has provided safe,

high-quality medical products for more than twenty years.

Over the years, the actions of the U.S. Congress, the U.S.

Food & Drug Administration and the U.S. Government

Accountability Office surrounding reprocessed devices have

meant that Stryker Sustainability Solutions works under tight

scrutiny and delivers some of the highest quality and safety

standards available today in the medical device industry.

SaveStryker Sustainability Solutions allows hospitals and

surgery centers to:

• Reduce medical waste by hundreds of

thousands of pounds, protecting our environment

by collecting valuable medical devices instead

of throwing them away

• Redirect important resources to patient care

quality initiatives by using reprocessed/

remanufactured devices

• Redistribute devices that cannot be reprocessed to

hospitals in impoverished nations around the world

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Stryker Sustainability Solutions takes a broad approach

toward promoting financial and environmental responsibility.

Rather than throwing away those medical devices it collects

that can’t be reprocessed/remanufactured or redistributed,

Stryker Sustainability Solutions works with local recycling

companies to break these devices down into their component

parts so they can be recycled appropriately and kept out

of landfills.

Reprocessing – a different mindsetStryker Sustainability Solutions has FDA clearance to

reprocess more than 90 medical device types, devices that

are then made available at typically half the cost of original

medical devices. Providing the means for both financial and

environmental benefit with no loss of safety or quality, Stryker

Sustainability Solutions works with all leading national group

purchasing organizations as well as numerous nationally

recognized hospital integrated delivery networks, including

most of U.S. News and World Report’s “Honor Roll” hospitals.

Medical device reprocessing/remanufacturing comes with

a new mindset: A mindset focused on making the best use

of the resources we have. A mindset that involves a detour

from a “throw-away” mentality. A mindset that recognizes and

appreciates that what has traditionally been viewed as trash

is not trash, but assets that should be protected, so that

healthy hospitals can improve patient care and reduce harm

to the environment.

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