A Healthy Outlook

When Debbie Burke and her staff enter their hospital in-plant each day, one question constantly remains on their minds: 'What else can we do to better serve the hospital, its patients and its staff?'

This constant desire to add more products and capabilities has brought high levels of growth to Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre Print Services during Burke's nine years as manager. When she arrived at the Toronto in-plant, Burke says the print shop was populated by Konica Minolta digital printers and a two-color Toko offset press. The shop did little more than place forms on glass for reproduction, she says.

Since those early days, Burke, a 30-year industry veteran, has orchestrated a complete equipment overhaul. The six-employee in-plant has gone all digital with Xerox equipment, including two Xerox Color J75s; extended the list of available products to include patient education materials, books and magazines; and most recently, it began printing on Xerox Performance Never Tear stocks.

"Every day we're looking for new things we can do," Burke explains. "It's something we work at all the time. Every day isn't the same here. We're an essential service, but every one of us loves coming to work, and we all love our jobs."

A Durable Solution

When the Xerox Performance Never Tear stocks (now owned by Domtar) first arrived at Sunnybrook, Burke recalls that her staff was not sure how the water-resistant polyester media would be used. It was clear, though, that the stocks would provide an alternative to lamination and make for a durable publication that could offer a variety of uses in the medical field.

The first opportunity to put the stocks to use came when the hospital's paramedics requested a reference book that could be taken into the field. The first run of books only used the stocks as the cover, but they are now printed entirely on Never Tear stocks.

The books were an immediate hit. The sheets proved to be resistant to damage from almost any liquid, except acetone. And the stocks' strength prevents rips, despite the rigors of paramedic work.

"We found out using Virox wipes, alcohol wipes or water, we could wipe the covers off, which was really great for when they're out there working in the field," Burke explains. "They get blood products on their equipment, or perhaps they put it down on a wet surface. They can basically clean their books up."

Numerous Requests

The Sunnybrook paramedics were so thrilled with their books that word quickly spread throughout Ontario. Soon afterward, Burke received calls from London, Hamilton and the Niagara region asking if they could have books printed on Never Tear stocks as well.

Inside the hospital, the stocks have been useful as handy pocket tools for nurses and other staff members. They have also been used for printing signs, making the final product a less expensive option than a laminated sign.

Burke credits her press operators with being able to quickly adapt to running the new stocks through the in-plant's equipment. She says the seamless transition is a credit both to her operators' talents on the presses and determination to serve the hospital at a high level.

"They really are amazing at their jobs," Burke lauds. "They're really comfortable with the equipment, and they both have been doing it for a lot of years."

In addition to her shop's expansive repertoire of printed products, Burke credits her in-plant's growth to the decreasing cost of color printing. When she first started, she says, the shop barely printed any color. Since that time color printing at Sunnybrook has grown 174 percent.

Even in the last few years, the shop's color printing numbers have jumped significantly. Burke says in 2011 the total impressions numbered 7,253,746. In 2013, that number leapt 20 percent to 9,064,932.

As the in-plant has continued to expand its capabilities, Burke says she constantly hears customers voicing their amazement at just how much can be done in-house. In addition to producing forms, books and signs for the hospital, Print Services also provides a variety of personal products hospital employees can purchase.

Burke says the in-plant has printed wedding, birthday and shower invitations, recipe books and more. She says many employees have spouses who run their own businesses, so Print Services can produce business materials for them at a low cost. Because the hospital is affiliated with the University of Toronto, Burke says the shop sees a large percentage of its workload come in the form of theses written by staff members working on their master's degrees.

"We just get continued business, and the business keeps growing," Burke says. "[Customers] laugh and tell us we can do everything, and we kind of can. We refer to ourselves as being one-stop shopping."

Accountable Web-to-print

As the in-plant has grown, Burke has also made it a priority to streamline the ordering system and to keep departments accountable for what they are ordering. Last year, Print Services launched an online order site, which has just about eliminated manually produced requisitions. The online ordering software, which was produced and is maintained by a local student, has also resulted in a savings, compared to purchasing a software package.

Each registered user of the website must link his or her manager to the account as a way of verifying each order. When an order is placed, the manager can oversee it and make sure nothing is being ordered extraneously. For example, Burke says if someone logs on and orders 1,000 diabetes protocols, but only has 20 diabetes patients, it could result in a dangerous overstock situation.

"Overstock is a risk for a patient because if something changes … you always want to make sure you're treating a patient with the most current form," Burke explains.

In addition to adding accountability to the ordering process, the online system has also made it easier and more efficient to place orders. The website is searchable, so users can look back and see what they have ordered in the past, rather than racking their brains when reordering.

The online ordering system has also allowed the shop to increase its production speed.

"A lot of times people will go online and submit the order then come down and say, 'I just put this order number in,' Burke says. "And their job is already sitting on the counter."

More Than Ink and Paper

Another part of what makes the in-plant so successful, Burke says, is that she and her staff consider themselves hospital employees first, rather than print shop employees who work in a hospital.

In addition to being one of the largest trauma centers in Ontario, Sunnybrook is also a large veterans hospital. Burke says she and her staff have made it a priority to serve the veterans at the hospital and many of them have enjoyed utilizing the print shop.

In particular, through a Grant-a-Wish program, the veterans can record their life stories and have them printed as books through Print Services. Burke also recalls one older gentleman who loved to print hospital maps at the in-plant and hand them out to visitors.

Being an employee of a hospital in-plant also extends beyond the walls of the print shop. Burke says that her employees will always go out of their way to help a lost visitor or to console a crying patient or family member and help them get the services they need.

"In a hospital, you don't always get to see people at their best, especially patients and family members," she says. "Every one of them deserves our time. If they want our time then they get our time."