By K. Richard Douglas
In Ohio, the University Hospitals Health System first opened its doors just after the Civil War. Starting out as a two-story wooden house in Cleveland, the system has expanded substantially since the 1860s. Today, the health system includes a top-ranked pediatric hospital as well as a top-ranked cancer center.
The health system’s mission statement reads: “To Heal. To Teach. To Discover.”
For several years, the system’s medical device management has been a partnership between the health system and Sodexo.
“Sodexo has been a healthcare delivery partner with University Hospitals for over 24 years and our Sodexo HTM program has been serving since 2018. Our Division’s DNA is comprised of Sodexo leaders and field support professionals along with 80 UH biomedical and imaging professionals,” says John White, MSHA, senior director of business development, Healthcare Technology Management at Sodexo Healthcare.
The scope of the University Hospitals Healthcare Technology Management department’s staff contingent and asset inventory is both large.
“Currently, 110 technical professionals and management-level operators. We currently service 90,000+ ($1.84 billion) medical equipment assets located at 20+ hospitals, 47 health centers, and 300+ sites of care throughout Northeast Ohio,” White says.
The large HTM department’s efforts and accomplishments have not gone unnoticed, as the team of biomeds and managers is the recipient of the 2025 Tech Choice Awards Department of the Year.
The UH HTM Division operates as ISO 13485 program through its partnership with Sodexo Healthcare Technologies. Over the past year, it passed 7 DNV surveys with no findings or non-conformity recommendations. The team has completed over 39,000 scheduled maintenance activities, 19,000 corrective maintenance activities and remediated 12,345 assets of manufacturer recall/notification activities. This has been achieved with the team performing 83% of activities with its own hands which has resulted in UHHS reducing the total cost of ownership of the fleet by greater than 8% from 2023-2024.
“This team is consistently recognized by clinical and operation leadership as an integral contributor to the health systems success and mission to bring quality and cost efficient health our communities,” the Tech Choice Award nomination shared.
“University Hospitals is also home to the MacDonald (MAC) Women’s Hospital, the only dedicated women’s hospital in Ohio. Founded in 1866, University Hospitals serves the needs of patients through an integrated network of 20+ hospitals, more than 50 health centers and outpatient facilities, and over 200 physician offices in 16 counties throughout northern Ohio,” White adds.
The HTM department is comprised of four separate departments: Clinical Engineering Services; Cybersecurity Services; Medical Equipment Management Office; and Portable Equipment Management Solutions.
“Service contracts are evaluated by the HTM Medical Equipment Management Office and the University Hospitals (UH) Supply Chain team in concert with the Sodexo Corporate contract negotiators. We derive our service delivery with our customers and our strategy is to manage the total cost of ownership. This is all centered around ensuring we are driving desired clinical outcomes. Helping us achieve these goals, is our access to the national buying power of Sodexo HTM and relationships with our national partners,” White says.
He says that through this process, there have been operational and TCO reductions exceeding $80 million in the past six years.
The team has a strong working relationship between the UH IT and Sodexo Medical Device Cybersecurity Management team.
HTM Competencies
The HTM team is made up of a number of specialists with internal training and advancement opportunities available.
“UH operations are comprised of resident and regional support professionals focused on ensuring that all technology remains available for driving patient outcomes. Our technical professionals are equipped with varied specialized skill sets including all major X-ray modalities, ultrasound, anesthesia, and hemodialysis. We also have experts within the Medical Equipment Management Office providing contract analysis, project management, quality control, recall management, capital planning, service delivery strategy, and cybersecurity team improving risk mitigation of the medical device networking following the NIST framework,” White says.
He says that advanced training opportunities are available throughout all tiers of operations, enabling continuous development of the team to greater heights.
“Many staff members are actively involved in board-level positions in the Healthcare Technology Management Association of Ohio (state biomedical association) and have participated with AAMI advisory councils,” White says.
This has been a partnership that has served the medical equipment management needs at University Hospitals very well.
