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Nurses and supply staff say manual work-order system and chronic maintenance delays hamper care
Summary
Material handlers and nurses testified that the hospital uses an email-thread work-order system with manual stock checks, resulting in delayed repairs, long-open work orders, and shortages of basic supplies; DBH said purchase orders and capital funds have been allocated for an automated inventory and for an HVAC replacement and camera upgrade.
Materials handlers and nurses described an inventory process that relies on email threads, photos of empty shelves, and manual delivery rather than an automated tracking system. Larry Leonard described a 1990s-style manual counting system in a hospital that needs an automated inventory solution; supply delays were repeatedly linked to increased patient stress and subsequent violence on units.
The hospital acknowledged the manual system and said it will procure an automated inventory management system using capital funds this fiscal year; a purchase order for an IT interface to connect newly purchased glucometers to the lab/record system is also in process. For longer-term facility problems, hospital witnesses said a DGS contract for major HVAC upgrades has been awarded and a video surveillance replacement is planned.
Committee follow-ups: the chair requested work-order logs with submission and completion dates, and asked DBH to identify the oldest open work order and a schedule for priority remediation. The hospital pledged to deliver a more informative work-order report and committed to exploring short-term “phone-a-friend" coordination with DGS for urgent repairs.
