Supporting patient care through device reprocessing

At UC Davis Health, delivering exceptional care goes hand in hand with our sustainability efforts and being responsible stewards of our resources. One impactful way teams across the organization are doing both is through the reprocessing and reuse of select medical devices.

Items like the Arjo AirPal lateral transfer devices, Currie DVT sleeves, and Philips ECG leads are essential to daily patient care. By safely collecting and reprocessing these high-value devices, we can reduce medical waste, strengthen environmental sustainability efforts, control supply costs, and ensure critical equipment is readily available when patients need it most.

These efforts also support the University of California system-wide goal of achieving a 58% reprocessing rate in FY26 for the lateral transfer mats, helping to strengthen sustainability across our hospitals while maintaining the highest standards of clinical care. The lateral transfer mats were identified as the focus goal because the weight of each of these mats is 2 pounds.

What You Can Do
Every team member plays a role in this effort. After use, please place the following items in the dark blue Medline Renewal hamper collection bin located in the Soiled Utility Room on your unit:
•    Arjo AirPal (lateral transfer device) 
•    DVT sleeves 
•    Philips ECG leads 

Your participation, whether you’re part of nursing, EVS, the Lift Team, technical staff, or an interdisciplinary care team, makes a meaningful difference. If you have any questions, please contact Brian Pring or Barbara Gumnor.

Together, these small actions add up to a stronger, more sustainable health system that continues to put patients first.