North American Medical is a used medical equipment liquidation company. President Mitchell Guier says, "we buy and sell a wide variety of medical equipment. We sell anything from CT scanners and MRI's to autoclaves and stretchers." He sells used sterilizers and does not refurbish any of his equipment. Guier says that before he sells a sterilizer, it has been checked by a hospital's biomedical department to make sure it meets guidelines for certification. His units run anywhere from $4,000 to $8,000 depending on the age and model.

Biomedical Technical Specialties offers per diem consulting, JCAHO survey preparation, cost savings initiatives, inventory certification, complete physical inventory, review quality of inventory data and equipment risk assessment, program development, equipment inventory review and assessment, maintenance inspections, per diem contract maintenance and equipment repair and sales. President of the company, Jeovanni Rivas said that Biomedical Technical Specialties sells mostly refurbished sterilizers - about 95 percent refurbished and five percent new. Rivas said that in order to ensure proper operation, sterilizer equipment should have spore test done on a daily basis and chambers should be cleaned at least once a year. He always recommends using distilled water in tabletop sterilizers.


On a slightly different note, but still in the sterilization market, SPSmedical Supply Corp. is the largest sterilizer laboratory in North America and a corporate member of numerous healthcare organizations, including standard setting organizations like AAMI and CSA.

"With a dedicated staff and over 50 sterilizers, SPSmedical provides sterilization test results to thousands of customers each year, and we manufacture a comprehensive line of sterilization monitoring, packaging and record keeping products," says Mariann Pierce, Director of Sales & Marketing. "SPSmedical shares a passion for infection prevention as we assist healthcare facilities and medical device manufacturers meet their sterility assurance needs."

SPSmedical has a quality system in place and complies with the Federal Food and Drug Administration. "The system we are regulated with is compliant with QRSs (Quality Systems Regulations) as listed in the United States Code of Federal Regulations. 21 CFR Part 820. Pierce said that the company's market involves all healthcare industries where instruments and devices are reprocessed, e.g. hospitals, private offices and clinics as well as dentist's offices. "There are other companies out there that are competitors who offer testing services and those who offer sterility assurance products," says Pierce. "However, we are the only company that offers both testing services and a full-line of sterility assurance products."

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