PENSACOLA, Fla – The logistics required to keep a hospital supplied and running properly are a large task, but the Materials Management Department at Naval Hospital Pensacola is up to the challenge.
The Materials Management Department (MMD) is responsible for ensuring the hospital is properly equipped and stocked with necessary supplies.
“The Materials Management Department is basically the warehouse of the hospital,” said Logistics Specialist Seaman Apprentice Oswaldo Rubio, supply technician, MMD, NHP. “It is responsible for taking care of the supplies that the hospital requires to complete its mission.”
Supply technicians visit the various clinics daily to deliver supplies and see if the clinics have everything they need on hand. The technicians then check the warehouse and bring the requested items back to the clinics. The warehouse holds enough stock to supply the hospital for several days without resupply.
“We are responsible for stocking the medical and surgical supplies to support the hospital,” said Logistics Specialist 2nd Class, Petty Officer Brett Blakely, government purchase card holder, MMD, NHP. “We order supplies from several different sources and vendors to ensure the hospital can complete its mission at any time.”
Aside from just stocking supplies in the warehouse, MMD also handles all purchases the hospital makes.
“We order items such as office supplies, tools for facilities and equipment for security; everybody relies on us to get them what they need,” said Blakely.
Once items are received, the Receiving Department of MMD is responsible for screening them. They check the quality and quantity of items being received and ensure specialty items such as radioactive and refrigerated items are properly handled between the warehouse and the hospital.
There are several other areas to MMD such as Open Purchase, Servmart, Defense Medical Logistic Support System (DMLSS) and the Equipment Division, which monitor the high dollar assets within the hospital. The Equipment Division also handles all Defense Reutilization Marketing Office (DRMO) activities. Items sent to DRMO are no longer needed at NHP, but are available for other commands to use.
When asked how he felt about working in MMD, Rubio said, “At the beginning it was kind of difficult because I felt like I was away from the hospital. After learning about my job, our mission and what MMD does, it gave me more encouragement to do my job because even if I’m just delivering gauze, it is probably going to help someone in need.”
Most Sailors and civilians working in MMD rarely interact with patients, but there is one thing that is certain, a hospital, like any other military unit, must have a strong supply line to be successful. Without the proper gear or the correct supplies to treat patients, there is only so much the doctors and nurses can accomplish.
| Date Taken: | 10.03.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 10.03.2014 09:58 |
| Story ID: | 144167 |
| Location: | PENSACOLA, FL, US |
| Web Views: | 161 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Strong supply lines help Naval Hospital Pensacola succeed, by PO1 James Stenberg, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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