Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital Reduces Storage Footprint by 50% with Vertical Carousels
28 Refrigerators Consolidated Into One Refrigerated Vertical Carousel
Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital needed a faster, more accurate way to manage medication inventory across its inpatient pharmacy network. Before installing White Systems vertical carousels, pharmacy technicians relied on static shelving, cardboard bins, and manual picking to prepare a 24-hour cart supply for the hospital and related facilities.
The process was time-consuming, space-intensive, and dependent on manual accuracy. A single day’s fulfillment could take approximately four hours, and the pharmacy needed a more controlled way to store, retrieve, and track medications.
The Challenge
Moses Cone’s pharmacy operation functioned at a high volume, supporting its own facility as well as sister facilities and clinics within the broader healthcare system.
Before implementing vertical carousel storage, the pharmacy faced several challenges:
- Medication inventory was stored across static shelving and multiple refrigerators
- Technicians manually searched for and selected items
- Daily replenishment took approximately four hours
- Manual picking increased the risk of selection errors
- Refrigerated storage occupied significant floor space
- The pharmacy needed better traceability and inventory control
The Solution
White Systems installed vertical carousel systems configured for pharmacy storage, refrigeration, barcode scanning, and cleanroom-compatible workflows.
The system brought medications directly to technicians at an ergonomic access point, reducing walking and search time while improving control over refrigerated inventory. The carousels also interfaced with the hospital’s electronic medical record system and supported the needs of sister facilities and clinics.
To support pharmacy requirements, the system included:
- Refrigerated carousel storage for temperature-sensitive medications
- Barcode scanning for inventory traceability
- HEPA filtration for cleanroom compatibility
- Secure pass-through door configurations
- Interior and exterior access doors with interlock controls
- Operator consoles for inventory visibility and item selection
- Ergonomic goods-to-person access
The cleanroom door configuration was designed so one side could only open when the opposite side was securely closed, helping maintain controlled handling between pharmacy areas.
The Results
After installing White Systems vertical carousels, Moses Cone significantly improved pharmacy storage, workflow efficiency, and inventory control.
Key outcomes included:
- Consolidated 28 refrigerators into one refrigerated vertical carousel
- Reduced pharmacy storage footprint by approximately 50%
- Cut replenishment time by approximately 50%
- Reduced staffing time required for replenishment tasks
- Improved medication access and workflow efficiency
- Supported barcode-based inventory traceability
- Improved control of refrigerated medication storage
- Helped pharmacy staff shift time toward more specialized work
“Before the vertical carousels, we had 28 refrigerators in this area. We were able to consolidate all of that refrigerated inventory into a single carousel, with ample room to spare.”
— Jim Mundy, PharmD, Assistant Director of Pharmacy, Moses Cone Memorial Hospital
A pharmacy carousel system built for space, speed, and control
The Moses Cone installation shows how vertical carousel technology can help hospital pharmacies consolidate medication storage, reduce manual search time, and improve inventory control. By replacing scattered refrigerated storage and manual picking with a controlled goods-to-person system, the pharmacy improved both space utilization and workflow efficiency.
This same vertical carousel technology can also support other pharmacy environments, including retail pharmacy, outpatient pharmacy, central fill, mail-order pharmacy, and long-term care pharmacy operations.
Interested in a similar pharmacy storage system? Learn more about pharmacy carousel systems for hospital, retail, outpatient, and central fill environments.