What are the benefits of having an endoscopy cart that is motorized?
The two major benefits of motorization are efficiency and safety.
With manual carts, moving equipment and supplies for bedside procedures frequently requires multiple trips. With a motorized cart, all endoscopy equipment and supplies can be moved in one trip with one person.
The Ergo-Express® Motorized Endoscopy Carts, with the Ergo-Touch 1 Controls, offer effortless transport over carpeting, up and down ramps and in and out of elevators. Our on-demand, retractable drive provides 360 degree maneuverability in elevators and tight procedure/patient rooms.
Motorization also makes transporting the equipment safer and easier. You simply drive the cart by guiding it down hallways and through doorways rather than pushing, pulling or muscling it where you it need it to be.
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How can we justify the cost of a motorized cart?
Our modular and interlocking cart designs allow you to create a complete workstation or to retrofit existing carts to transport all your equipment and supplies in one trip and with one person. If your current cart is adequate for your needs, but just too heavy to push, we can retrofit and give you the immediate benefits of motorization for a fraction of the cost. Because of this, a 12 to 18 month payback from operational transport cost savings can be achieved.
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Can you help us determine and demonstrate how motorization would specifically benefit our organization?
Yes, we offer a free customized risk assessment and cost analysis, which can be used to determine the benefits of motorization in your department. This information can be invaluable in your decision-making and approval processes.
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What options are available to maneuver our equipment and supplies in tight spaces like very small ICU and X-Ray rooms?
Our exclusive on-demand, Ergo-Express® Retractable Drive feature, much like the 5th wheel on your stretchers, enhances maneuverability by lifting the drive off the floor and allowing you to safely and easily move the cart in any direction. Should your cart be too large for your rooms, the Ergo-Express® Motorized Carts and Featherweight™ Non Motorized Carts offer modular design options. Tower configurations have smaller footprints and provide increased maneuverability in small procedure and patient rooms.
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Is there a way to motorize our current endoscopy carts?
Yes, your current cart or equipment can be retrofitted and mounted on a motorized platform cart. This option can be more cost-effective in certain situations, however if you perform more than four acute bedside procedures a week, a custom motorized endoscopy workstation could pay for itself in less than one year.
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When our current cart is fully loaded, our equipment is stacked so high that we can’t see over it. How would your carts be any different?
The Ergo-Express® Endoscopy Workstation has so many configuration and storage options, you can customize a cart to contain your equipment and supplies without stacking them on the top. In addition, the carts can be operated in either a forward or reverse direction. If you have a circumstance where you cannot see over the top of your cart, operating in the reverse direction allows you to safely walk along side the cart and clearly see where you are going.
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Can your products change to accomodate new equipment and different needs?
The Ergo-Express® and Featherweight™ carts have been designed to meet your reconfiguration requirements. Our cart systems are like LEGOS® and can be taken apart and added to for new equipment and evolving procedural protocol.
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What is an “on demand” retractable drive?
The retractable drive feature on an Ergo Express® cart retracts (or lifts) the two motorized wheels off the floor with the push of a button. Much like raising the fifth wheel on gurney, this allows the cart to have 360 degree maneuverability from the four wheels that remain on the ground. The benefit is that the cart can easily be positioned into tight treatment rooms and elevators.
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Do the carts require regular maintenance? How frequently?
The only regular maintenance is to replace the battery each year. To help you remember, a reminder letter is sent on the 11th month of each year with information on how to order a new battery. Installation is quick and easy.
Depending on usage, casters and wheels wear out – just like the tires on your car, but that is a less frequent maintenance item that varies for every department.
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Are you available if I have questions?
Yes, 24/7 technical support assistance is provided for the life of your cart. It doesn’t end when your warranty ends. You can call any time, day or night, for anything from how to turn the key to how to replace the battery.
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What safety features do your carts have?
Our carts have numerous safety features built in. These include:
- Self Braking – Immediate controlled deceleration when you release the throttle. The transaxle is locked so the cart cannot move forward or backward until you pull back on the throttle.
- In Motion Alarm with On/Off Control – Alert those around you as you move. Can also be turned off in quiet surroundings.
- Emergency Stop Switch – Also called the Emergency Brake Button. This large, blue button on the end of the controller immediately locks the brake when depressed, regardless of whether you are traveling forward or in reverse.
- Forward/Reverse Directional Control – Safety feature that forces you to cognitively decide if you are going to travel forward or in reverse.
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How do I know your carts will work with our equipment?
Ergo Express endoscopy carts are specifically designed with modular components to match up with and fit current endoscopy equipment. However, if you require custom components, our carts are designed for custom modular configuration. Like building blocks, these components can be used to create the perfect cart for your application and procedural protocol.
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Would using the OP/ER Valet System really save us a lot of time?
Consider this example: “Our department lost a gentleman’s hearing aid last week, a sweater the day before yesterday and a pair of tennis shoes today. With all three incidents combined, I spent over an hour just looking for these articles and then had to contact security and file an incident report.”
The OP/ER™ Valet Patient Belongings System creates a secure, sanitary, tamper-evident system for your patient’s belongings while in your department. Patient belongings are sealed in a plastic liner and locked into the pouch until the patient leaves your department.
Using the OP/ER Valet system not only reduces the time you spend looking for patient belongings, your entire department can become more efficient by using an established protocol and a system that is both nurse and patient friendly.
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How does the OP/ER Valet pouch fasten to a stretcher?
The pouch initially attaches to the stretcher using an adhesive strip with Velcro. The pouch can also be bolted to the stretcher through grommets in the flap for additional security.
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Phone: 888-639-5438 OR 763-498-7576 | Fax: 763-498-8128 | E-mail: info@phswest.com
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