Overcoming Logistical Challenges

Launching, expanding, or renovating a healthcare facility is a complex endeavor, with very little room for error. A single day of delay can cost a medical facility anywhere from $400,000 to $500,000 in lost revenue. The potential for delay was even greater for PeaceHealth’s Ketchikan Medical Center when they embarked on a $62 million, 70,000-square-foot expansion project. Located on a remote island in southern Alaska with no direct highway access, the location of the facility posed very unique logistical challenges that could adversely impact the timeline for opening and by extension cost millions in lost revenue. But through careful planning, close collaboration with all parties involved, and our specialized delivery and installation services, CME teams helped made sure that the medical center’s expansion was completed on time, within budget, and without any lost revenue.

Here’s how we did it.

 

The Project

PeaceHealth’s Ketchikan Medical Center, located on Revillagigedo Island in southern Alaska, serves both the local community and the thousands of tourists who visit each year. To meet growing demand and improve overall treatment capacity, the facility undertook a $62 million expansion that added a new 70,000 square-foot two-story wing consisting of 54 examination rooms and an expanded operating room.

This large-scale investment required continuous collaboration with all key stakeholders, to source, stage, transport, and install over 2,000 pieces of medical equipment. PeaceHealth chose CME to manage the project from start to finish. Beginning with a single purchase order that consolidated purchase requisitions from 62 different manufacturers, we then coordinated the necessary warehousing and logistics to help ensure all equipment was staged, transported, and installed efficiently.

 

The Challenges

Imagine transporting over 2,000 pieces of essential medical equipment within tight ferry schedules, across open water to an island with limited warehousing facilities, and onto trucks navigating narrow, hilly roads. To help ensure the hospital expansion opened on time, meant overcoming a range of unique logistical hurdles, each of which had the potential to derail the timeline:

 

 Remote Location: The city of Ketchikan has no direct highway access to the mainland and the only viable option for transporting equipment was via barges, which ran twice a week from Seattle, WA. Additionally, the island’s tight, rugged roads were not designed to accommodate large deliveries, limiting the size of the trucks we could use.

Limited Warehouse Space: The island had minimal warehousing facilities, making it difficult to store and stage large quantities of medical equipment.

Limited Trucking and Lodging Options: There were few trucks available for delivery and lodging for on-site workers was scarce due to the deliveries coinciding with peak tourist season and U.S. Coast Guard relocations.

Construction Delays: A four-week delay in construction reduced the timeline for installation to just two and a half weeks, creating additional pressure.

 

“It was a tremendous organizational and logistics requirement, and everyone associated with the project is very happy with the results. Ordering exactly what’s needed, coordinating the warehousing space and full-barge shipments, and then receiving, warehousing, and installing the equipment—CME took a great burden off our folks in Ketchikan who don’t have the resources to manage a project of that magnitude.”

Ed Scovil, Northwest Network Director of Supply Chain for PeaceHealth

 

Our Solution: A Turnkey Approach from Start to Finish

§  Focused Medical Equipment Expertise: Our account managers helped the medical center select and order the most appropriate and cost-effective equipment for the new wing, helping ensure that each piece of equipment met PeaceHealth’s specifications and requirements.

 

§  Project Management: We sourced over 2,000 items from 62 manufacturers. All products were delivered to our Seattle-area warehouse, where they were carefully inspected and prepared for transport. By managing the entire procurement process, we eliminated the administrative burden on PeaceHealth and assured that every item was accounted for before delivery. Ketchikan teams were kept appraised of the status of equipment received by our project managers.

 

§  Warehousing and Staging: Given the lack of adequate storage facilities on the island, we rented additional warehouse space in Seattle to store and stage the medical equipment. Once staged, the equipment was loaded onto barges and transported to Ketchikan on over 500 pallets. Our on-site teams coordinated the transfer of all medical products to a temporary warehouse on the island, where it was prepped and assembled for final delivery and installation at the hospital.

 

§  Logistics and Transportation: Our logistics team coordinated barge shipments twice a week. Once the equipment arrived on the island, we used 26-foot bob trail trucks ferried over on Mondays and returned to the mainland on Fridays. The narrow roads and limited delivery windows required precise scheduling. Despite the transportation challenges, our team ensured deliveries were made on schedule.

 

§  Adapting to Construction Delays: When construction delays shortened our installation timeline from six weeks to just two and a half weeks, we swiftly adapted. Working around the clock shuttling barges back and forth, our teams delivered and installed every piece of equipment with minimal disruptions to hospital operations and workflow. CME project managers communicated closely with on-site construction teams to schedule equipment for installation as soon as space became available, helping to prevent any further delays.

 

The Results

Despite various obstacles, we delivered on our promise to install 2,000+ pieces of equipment, ready for immediate use, to help the new hospital wing open on time and serve its patients without delay. Our efforts resulted in:

þ On-time delivery of all equipment despite the compressed schedule.

þ Zero downtime during installation, ensuring that healthcare services remained uninterrupted.

þ Cost savings by preventing any delays that could have cost the hospital millions in lost revenue.

 

 

Collaboration, Trust, & Flexibility: Key Factors to Success

The success of the Ketchikan project wasn’t just a result of good planning—it was the culmination of collaboration, trust, and flexibility at every stage of the process. Our project management team served as the central hub, keeping communication flowing smoothly between PeaceHealth, local contractors, equipment manufacturers, medical center staff, and our internal teams. They worked closely with our on-site team to ensure that deliveries were scheduled so that there were minimal disruptions to construction and healthcare operations.

Despite construction delays compressing the delivery timeline, our teams adapted and quickly identified alternative solutions. Through around-the-clock efforts, our team accommodated the reduced installation schedule. In just two and a half weeks, we transported all medical equipment on shuttle barges and ensured each product was installed efficiently. These efforts not only helped assure the project stayed on schedule but also prevented what could have been over $3 million in lost revenue for PeaceHealth.

 

Why Partner With CME

As experts in medical equipment distribution, we understand that time is money. With this knowledge, we approach every project with the same level of commitment and precision that helped PeaceHealth’s expansion to succeed. We’re committed to delivering more than just equipment. Our flexible, collaborative approach combines procurement, project management, warehousing, delivery, installation, and biomedical support into one seamless process. No matter how complex the project, CME’s experienced teams will help you stay on schedule, in budget, and ready to serve your patients.