Being able to distribute healthcare simulation products that have been previously returned to a manufacturer or vendor for various reasons is an important way to reallocate resources and avoid waste. As clinical simulation becomes increasingly in demand, and not all facilities and institutions can afford patient simulators, the refurbished simulator market presents numerous opportunities. There are a number of healthcare simulation community resources that can help to connect educators and simulationists with refurbished simulators to help boost their respective programs. This article shares information about these resources, and where refurbished simulators can be found.
Pocket Nurse: Remanufactured simulation equipment is one of the best value solutions that Pocket Nurse offers. The company’s refurbished options include hospital beds and IV pumps, just to name two. Pocket Nurse can customize the length of warranty and service for each customer. The company has partnered with industry-leading remanufacturing companies for many years, and these companies have renowned reconditioning programs, warranties, labor, and technical support for their reconditioned products. In addition, Pocket Nurse offers two- and three-year labor and part warranties on many of our remanufactured products.
The company shares that, “We give our customers value in remanufactured products by providing industry leading refurbished products, with teams to support labor and technical issues, and industry-leading warranties. While it is true that the prices aren’t the lowest, our customers understand that Pocket Nurse and our vendor partners will stand behind those products as we have done for nearly 28 years.”
Pocket Nurse also published a blog post titled “The Value of Remanufactured Medical Equipment for Simulation” in 2019. The blog post aimed to help customers maximize their budgets as far as possible. Often, this means seeking out refurbished patient simulators, rather than the newest product offerings.
Echo Healthcare’s MeLISA Program: MeLiSA stands for “Master Level Service Agreement.” Echo Healthcare understands how valuable customers’ time is, and understands that running medical simulators can be complex. The company works to demystify medical simulators, and provide immediate support any time, anywhere. The MeLiSA team is comprised of highly skilled ESR’s (Emergency Simulator Responders) with a broad technical skill set. The goal of this program is to eliminate downtime and keep clinical simulators in operational condition.
Creative Simulation: With over 30 years of combined experience in healthcare and simulation, Creative Simulation provides high-quality refurbished patient simulation manikins, parts, and training for healthcare and nurse training to help teams excel. The company’s goal is to help healthcare simulation educators and technicians provide high-quality education while saving money on equipment and services.
Creative Simulation’s technician is certified by Laerdal on several simulation manikin platforms, and has vast experience with Gaumard and CAE equipment as well. All equipment sales come with personal delivery, set-up, and initial training (within the continental United States). Note that the company’s manikin inventory changes weekly. Those looking for a specific healthcare simulation product or service can email Creative Simulation at info@creativesimulation.com.
Facebook Group — Medical Simulation Supplies & Equipment Marketplace: This group is intended for the sale or donation of medical simulation supplies and equipment. With over 650 members, this group is an excellent place to buy and sell refurbished healthcare simulators, or to network to find where a particular human patient simulator may be available. The group is private, so those interested in participating will have to submit a request to administrators to join.
Equipped MD: Equipped MD is an equipment solutions company developed to provide affordable and high-quality medical equipment solutions to healthcare providers, enabling their efforts to provide optimal care to their patients. The company’s main focus is working with private practices, clinics, surgery centers, and small bed hospitals to offer long-term working relationships and premium customer service and support.
Further, Equipped MD offers a unique program where customers can send existing equipment to the company, and Equipped MD will fully refurbish the product for them. Each refurbishing process can be custom-tailored to individual needs and budgets so that customers can maximize the life of their medical device. This is how the process works:
- Step 1: Send Equipped MD an inquiry with details on the equipment to be refurbished.
- Step 2: An Equipped MD representative will reach out to the customer and request additional details.
- Step 3: Equipped MD will provide a detailed quote of recommended services for the specific device.
- Step 4: Accept the quote and ship Equipped MD your equipment. Depending on the equipment, Equipped MD may provide a loaner system.
- Step 5: Equipment is refurbished in-house and shipped back to the customer by a specific deadline.
- Step 6: Enjoy the freshly refurbished equipment.
Equipped MD follows the rule: “Only sell equipment that you feel comfortable with being used on yourself.” The company can help guide customers away from devices that are close to the end of their life, have little to no product support, or are simply poor quality. Another part of the Equipped MD mission statement is to build long-term relationships with customers, and the company believes this can only be accomplished if they are 100% satisfied with their purchase.
DRE Medical: DRE is a premier surgical and medical equipment supplier that provides a combination of new and professionally refurbished equipment to medical professionals around the globe. DRE offers value to physicians by providing the features and reliability they need while still fitting within their budget. Types of refurbishing from DRE include:
- Factory New: DRE has a complete line of new equipment that is high quality but very affordable compared with brand-name manufacturers.
- Fully Refurbished: Ensures equipment meets original manufacturers’ specifications, has been performance-tested, and has been cleaned and touched up to look professional. This level of refurbishing is designed for equipment that is ready to be used in working surgical environments.
- Refurbished for Simulations: Equipment is refurbished to a level needed for the user’s specific use, leaving out refurbishing elements that may be costly but not impact the desired performance.
- Cosmetic Refurbished: This equipment is often in as-is or non-working condition but has been cleaned and painted to look professional in the user’s environment.
Southwest Medical: Southwest Medical works with schools nationwide to provide a combination of new and refurbished equipment options to best suit the school’s size and budget. For many medical organizations, purchasing refurbished equipment is a cost-effective alternative to purchasing new. By pioneering and participating in a vast buying and selling network, Southwest Medical is able to procure, refurbish and sell the highest performance and latest models used in the industry.
Before delivering pre-owned equipment, Southwest Medical’s team of factory-trained engineers uses its expertise to certify the devices within their original performance standards. To achieve the highest quality assurance, Southwest Medical maintains one of the industry’s largest and most current refurbishment facilities in the United States.
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