St. Michael's Hospital Supply Chain Improvements Recommendation

Executive Summary

St. Michael’s Hospital is a Catholic teaching and research hospital founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph in 1892 to care for the sick and poor of Toronto's inner city. Affectionately known as the Urban Angel, St. Michael’s is renowned for providing exceptional patient care. As downtown Toronto’s adult trauma centre, the hospital is a hub for neurosurgery, complex cardiac and cardiovascular care, diabetes and osteoporosis care, minimally invasive surgery and care of the homeless and disadvantaged. St. Michael’s is also one of Ontario’s major sites of care for critically ill patients.

While one thinks of purchasing for a hospital, items such as medical supplies or large medical devices come into mind. However, one thing that is critical to hospital operation that most don’t think about is the purchasing of the food & nutrition commodity needs of the hospital. After all, the patients all have to eat at one point or another. Unfortunately as the spend for the food & nutrition commodity is considerably less than other commodities that the hospital spends their money on, it is one commodity that is often overlooked for a hospital’s overall supply chain process.

The Food & Nutrition purchasing team of St. Michael’s Hospital, located in the heart of downtown Toronto is one of the hospitals that faces the challenges from its segregation away from the rest of the purchasing teams. An independent purchasing software, membership in a separate purchasing group, limited storage space, and constraint delivery times are some of the obstacles that limits the efficiency of the Food & Nutrition purchasing team.

There are steps that can be taken which will help improve the proficiency of the Food & Nutrition purchasing team at St. Michael’s Hospital. Ways to integrate as much as possible with the rest of the purchasing teams of the hospital as well as leaning out the supply chain process should aid these deficiencies in strides....