Photo By Dan Grubb |
Service members and civilians team up to make Womack Army Medical Center stand out......read moreread more
Photo By Dan Grubb | Service members and civilians team up to make Womack Army Medical Center stand out above all others when it comes to Single-Use Device Reprocessing. see less
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Womack Army Medical Center (WAMC) has become the first medical facility in the Department of Defense (DoD) to achieve over $1 million in savings through its Single-Use Device (SUD) Reprocessing program. This landmark achievement for the Defense Health Agency (DHA) highlights a commitment to fiscal responsibility and environmental stewardship. The facility will be celebrating its eighth consecutive year of being number one across the DoD and its eleventh consecutive year as an awardee of the Stryker Sustainability Solutions (SSS) Environmental Excellence Healthy Hospital Award.
The SUD reprocessing program at WAMC is a testament to the facility's innovative and resourceful approach to healthcare management. By partnering with SSS to collect, clean, test, and sterilize single-use medical devices for reuse, the facility has significantly reduced its medical waste and operational costs. This not only translates to substantial savings for taxpayers but also aligns with national goals for environmental sustainability.
“This is why we do it,” says Brandy Mitchell, a Registered Nurse, Womack’s SUD Reprocessing Manager and driving force behind the efforts. “It is exciting, especially in this age of medical reprocessing and caring for our environment, that we are leading the way when it comes to saving valuable funds and reducing waste for future generations!”
During fiscal year 2025, WAMC saved a total of $1,057,302 and diverted 15,136 pounds of waste from their local landfills. Since May of 2008, the WAMC SUD program alone has saved over $10 million dollars and prevented over 150,000 pounds of waste from reaching our landfill. Stryker Sustainability partners with the National Forest Foundation for Products for the Planet and numerous trees and kelp, planted in areas that have the most environmental need, have been planted on behalf of WAMC's sustainability efforts to support ocean habitats and forest missions.
The success of WAMC's program sets a new standard for military medical facilities across the nation. It demonstrates that with dedication and a forward-thinking mindset, it is possible to provide top-tier medical care while also being fiscally and environmentally conscious. The savings from this program can be redirected to other critical patient care needs, further enhancing the quality of healthcare provided to our service members and their families.
“Tons of medical waste gets disposed of in landfills every year,” said Joshua S. Ogle, Chief of Womack’s Supply Chain Management Branch. “By using the SUD program, we are able to lessen our contribution to this waste. Not only does the program benefit the environment, but it also helps reduce the cost of medical supplies for the facility. Our commitment to this program shows that we are striving to do our part in reducing medical waste and spending.”
