MedSpeeders support customer during sterilization equipment failure

It all started when a series of urgent work orders began flowing into MedSpeed. The instructions were clear but daunting: deliver surgical trays and equipment directly to other facilities within strict one-hour timeframes, avoiding contamination at all costs.

The reason? A large health system’s sterilization machine had gone down. Without these urgent deliveries, surgeries critical to patient care would be canceled.

Time was of the essence, and our MedSpeed team had to act quickly after learning that equipment needed to be transported to two other hospitals, one 20 minutes away and another an hour away.

There were no MedSpeed On-Demand Logistics Service Representatives (LSRs), MedSpeed’s term for our drivers, available on weekends and there were limited resources during overnight hours. So, pre-planning for the long holiday weekend became crucial. Kacy Wells-Baker, MedSpeed’s Sacramento Operations Supervisor, drove two hours to Santa Rosa to run several deliveries herself, working a 14-hour day to lighten the team’s load.

Meanwhile, MedSpeed Sacramento Lead LSRs Malcolm Anderson and Allen Coronel stepped up to cover direct runs over the weekend, collaborating with our Control Center and Dispatch teams, especially Bruce Tatem and Cody Wimberly. The whole MedSpeed local team, especially Operations Manager Kevin Williams, Lead LSR David Martinez Cortes, LSRs Peter Bellomo, Kim Sidener and Leo Gonzalez Sandoval played a vital role, ensuring sterile tools were transported securely and on time. Meticulous care was taken to wrap and load equipment to preserve sterility.

Across weekdays and weekends, the team adjusted their fleet, on-demand schedules, and route planning to meet the client’s urgent needs. Over the three-week period, they handled 23 work orders, transporting loads of five or more trays per trip.  Each trip transported more than 10 trays. Thanks to this experience, when the hospital’s sterilization machine failed again for two weeks in January 2025, the team was ready to respond immediately.

Despite the challenges, we are so thankful our team had the ability to respond rapidly, plan effectively, and collaborate seamlessly. As one team member put it, “If we missed any runs, the surgeries would be canceled.” Thanks to their efforts, essential surgeries went on as planned, ensuring patients received the care they needed.