The ReNewal medical device reprocessing plant in Redmond, Oregon [Image courtesy of Medline]
Northfield, Illinois-based Medline — the fourth largest medical device company in the world, according to Medical Design & Outsourcing’s 2023 Big 100 — said it expanded the Redmond, Oregon, plant by nearly 52,000 square feet.
The expansion doubled the facility’s size and capacity to reprocess medical devices that Medline says would otherwise end up in a landfill.
The Medline ReNewal program has reprocessed nearly 15 million devices since 2014. The reprocessing helped to divert more than 10 million pounds of waste from landfills. In 2022 alone, the company reprocessed 2.3 million medical devices, equating to reducing approximately 1.1 million pounds of waste.
Medline ReNewal President Frank Czajka said in a news release that the program helps lower healthcare’s carbon footprint, strengthen the supply chain and improve cost efficiencies for customers.
“Medline ReNewal is a single-use device manufacturer and reprocessor,” said Medline ReNewal VP Steve Bettis. “We take these medical devices — designed to be used one time — bring them back to life, and make them usable again for our hospital and healthcare partners.”
More about the expansion and the Medline Healthcare Resilience Initiative
This latest project is valued at $21 million and comes as part of the company’s multi-year Healthcare Resilience Initiative. Since 2018, the campaign has invested $2 billion in its U.S. distribution centers, manufacturing capabilities, facility expansion projects and information technology. It plans to invest another $300 million in 2023.
Medline’s latest investment helps the Redmond facility reprocess more than 4,300 types of supplies and devices across specialties of care. Areas include orthopedics, ENT, general/urology, ophthalmology and cardiac catheterization. Each day, the facility receives approximately 20,000 devices and ships out approximately 11,000 “like new” devices.
“The process itself from start to finish is pretty complex,” said Bettis. “Everything from collecting the devices at the customer’s facility, shipping them across the country, bringing them here, and then sorting, sterilizing, and reconditioning them and bringing them back to life.”
The company says ReNewal can help lower medical device costs by 50% year after year, or between $200,000 and $2 million per facility. Its on-demand ordering platform also helps track the flow of collected and reprocessed devices.
ReNewal currently works with 2,000 healthcare facilities on device reprocessing.
“Every day, healthcare systems are asked to balance competing priorities—to cut costs, improve care quality and reduce waste,” said Czajka. “Medline ReNewal is extending the life of single-use devices without compromising clinical quality or patient safety. This is a win-win situation for our customers and the environment. We are thrilled to be part of the solution, and thrilled to celebrate this expanded facility.”
