Medical gas and vacuum systems are mission-critical components of healthcare facilities, essential for ensuring patient safety and optimal clinical outcomes. This means reliability is crucial to success. A durable system that can be
relied on to perform when it counts doesn’t just come from purchasing the right equipment, though. Quality is important, but reliability is built over time through the implementation of best practice maintenance and support strategies.
Long-term systems need long-term thinking. Medical gas and vacuum systems are designed to last 10-12+ years, but they only do so with proper care. Preventive maintenance protects a facility’s investment and reduces the risk of downtime
or failure. The best way to design and implement a proper maintenance strategy is to go right to the source — developing a relationship with an expert partner like Pattons Medical.
We’re not just selling systems, we’re in it for the life of the equipment,” said Name, Title at Pattons Medical. “Hospitals rely on these systems every single day, and our role is to make sure their service partners have everything they
need to keep them running. That means stocking the right parts, helping them plan for preventive maintenance and making it easy to get what they need fast.
What a proper strategy looks like
Several factors combine to create a superior parts and service strategy. An expert like Pattons Medical works with service companies, facility managers and engineers to design a program tailored to their unique facility.
A proper strategy often includes:
Pattons Medical supports each facility by working closely with their trusted service partners to plan preventive maintenance, stock critical parts and provide access to real-time system data through built-in HMI tools. From initial
setup to long-term support, we help ensure that certified technicians have the training, resources and responsiveness they need to keep systems running and compliant year after year.
When we begin working with a service partner or facility, we help to put the strategy in place, from parts planning to system walkthroughs,” Name explained. “Then, we stay connected through regular check-ins, fast response when
something’s needed and long-term support that evolves with the facility. Our goal is to make sure they never feel like they’re on their own; that we’re with them for the life of the system.
When the clock is ticking
Despite the best of parts and service plans, components can and do fail. It’s not always because of poor maintenance — storms, power surges and other unexpected events can take systems offline. The most common points of failure are
pumps, belts, dryers, starters and control panels.
In critical care settings, response time becomes crucial. Working with a partner that can deliver backup parts quickly helps facilities mitigate this challenge. Pattons Medical systems are designed with redundancy, but once a component
fails, a facility is only one failure away from a critical response. They need to restore redundancy fast.
In this environment, it’s not enough to respond, you must be ready. The first step is to have the proper backup parts on hand for immediate service. Next is to work with a partner like Pattons Medical that can quickly replenish those
backup parts,” Name explained.
Pattons Medical partners rely on fast turnaround because most hospitals don’t stock more than one backup part on site. This is especially important for NICUs, ORs or during surge events, like a pandemic. Pattons Medical even
stocks parts for other OEMs to ensure its facility partners aren’t left scrambling.
We maintain a robust parts stock so that we can ship out backup parts with next-day delivery,” Name said. “We have seen systems fail for all sorts of reasons. The best strategy is to be completely prepared with redundancy and a plan to
quickly restore that redundancy when needed.
How Pattons Medical makes it easy
Pattons Medical works with a network of service partners around the country to ensure facilities have healthy strategies. That means giving them the tools, parts and training to keep systems performing at their best. HMI screens give
technicians instant access to system health, alarm histories, parts numbers and more. This eliminates guesswork and speeds up service. The company ensures service reminders are embedded directly into the interface so that partners can
stay ahead of inspection deadlines, wear-related maintenance and more.
Pattons Medical offers training to service partners, equipment documentation, and technical assistance. It ensures that its partners and the facilities they service are never left without the information they need to keep medical gas
and vacuum systems optimally performing. The company views itself as part of the service team. Its success is directly tied to its customers’ success.
Our goal is to make it easy — one PO, fair pricing, parts that ship fast. If we do that right, our partners will know that their challenges are being solved. We work to earn that trust every day.
