St. Paul University Hospital

Background

The original St. Paul’s Hospital first opened its doors in June 1898 in Dallas, Texas with 110 beds. Over the decades the establishment evolved to bigger buildings that accommodated more beds, and medical and nursing schools with dormitories. The hospital has many accolades including being the first Dallas hospital to employ black doctors and perform a successful heart transplant. St. Paul’s Hospital and UT Southwestern Medical Center partnered together and expanded its lung transplantation program, high-risk maternity unit, and surgical intensive care. In 2000 UT Southwestern purchased the hospital and renamed it St. Paul University Hospital; however, in the years to follow it was determined that renovation would be too costly. Hospital leaders decided to transfer operations to the William P. Clements Jr. Hospital and demolish the more than 480-bed St. Paul University Hospital building in 2015.

Challenge

The Surplus Marketplace team, working under a former partnership, was approached by UT Southwestern to organize and prepare all assets that were not transferred to the new hospital location for a public online auction sale. This was a big undertaking – with a maximum 45-day deadline, our team had to sort and organize through 50+ years of assets in a 9-story building, host and advertise the online auction, and have all the paid items removed before the demolition crews arrived.

Approach

After consulting with UT Southwestern’s appointed decommission team and management, the field services manager (and now the owner of Surplus Marketplace) devised a detailed hospital transition plan that allowed for the field services team to efficiently do their job, while also allowing space for UT Southwestern personnel to do theirs. The first priority for the team was to capture all the asset tag numbers for UT Southwestern to reconcile their inventory before moving to the new location. After it was determined what assets were to be sold at auction, the team then divided the assets that could remain onsite and others that would be relocated offsite for security. Afterward, the team worked quickly to lot, photograph, and provide descriptions to increase the amount of time the auction was viewable to the public. All the while, the team worked as a secondary oversight to ensure all equipment was properly handled and followed all federal and TDSHS protocols for HIPPA with an emphasis on protected health information (PHI).

Surplus Marketplace’s marketing manager prepared a unique advertisement plan to highlight the high-dollar and large quantity of medical and laboratory equipment, hospital furniture, and related inventory. This strategy included both print and digital media with an emphasis on regional hospitals, medical centers, and medical equipment dealers. In addition, the field services team organized and staffed three public inspections and provided numerous private appointments.

Outcome

The auction was a success - all lots were sold and removed within the scheduled time frame. It also brought in twice the dollar amount than was originally projected and mitigated the amount that needed to be demolished, saving both costs and landfill waste. This was the first major project that the entire Surplus Marketplace team worked on together and it established the professionalism and flow that is still held today.

References

“Caring for Dallas: A History of Our Hospitals.” Dallas Historical Society, https://www.dallashistory.org/caring-for-dallas-a-history-of-our-hospitals/.

“The End of St. Paul Medical Center.” Discovering the Southwest Metroplex, 4 Jan. 2018, https://blogs.library.unt.edu/southwest-metroplex/2015/12/16/the-end-of-st-paul-medical-center/.

Goodman, Matt. “So Long, Saint Paul: UT Southwestern Demolishes Historic Hospital.” D Magazine, 23 Nov. 2015, https://www.dmagazine.com/healthcare-business/2015/11/so-long-saint-paul-ut-southwestern-demolishes-historic-hospital/.

“The Old St. Paul University Hospital Implosion.” YouTube, The Dallas Morning News, 22 Nov. 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7ZqI6oJ0AA.