Metro Healthcare Storage & Medical Carts

Sterile processing is scrutinized hardest, because package integrity is the point. Open versus solid: open wire and open-grid polymer is the default in sterile storage — air moves, dust does not settle on a pan, staff see the shelf above. Exceptions are the bottom shelf, often solid, and staging shelves. Wrapped trays should not be compressed or dragged across a grid that snags wrap, so wrap racks and shelf pitch matter more than shelf count.

Wall-mounted versus mobile. SmartWall and cantilevered SmartLever get storage off the floor, speeding cleaning and recovering footprint in a narrow prep-and-pack room. Mobile units win where layouts change.

Cleanability. Removable polymer mats can be cleaned off the unit — the biggest difference from welded wire in a wet room. Epoxy and Metroseal handle humidity better than chrome; stainless handles the harshest routines. If a unit sees a cart wash, posts and casters must be specified for it too.

Nurse-server storage — supply held at or just outside the patient room rather than centrally — removes walking from every task. It is easy to get wrong: the space is tiny and the item list is not.

Two approaches, usually combined. Wall-hung shelving and cantilever systems put a defined item set on the wall in the alcove or inside the room, with nothing on the floor to clean around. A mobile cart parks in the alcove, carries a deeper list and rolls out to be restocked. What decides is who owns replenishment and whether the corridor can hold a parked cart without affecting egress — a call for your safety team.

For clinic exam rooms the practical version is a compact cart: work surface, two to four shallow drawers, one deeper drawer for bulk, an accessory rail with sharps bracket and glove box holder, and a lock only if the contents justify it.

Metro’s cart lines: Flexline general use, procedure and phlebotomy carts on a modular drawer system; Starsys general use, biomedical and secure IV carts; Nimbl supply, workstation and endoscopy carts; myCart and MW utility carts. The line matters less than the configuration: a cart wrong on drawers or locks is wrong every shift for ten years.

Drawers first. Group the list by depth. Shallow 3-inch drawers hold high-frequency consumables and stop staff digging; 6-inch and 9-inch drawers take bulk, tubing and kits. Divider kits keep a drawer from becoming a bin; coloured pulls and labels make a shared cart legible.

Hardware. A top ledge so nothing rolls off in a corridor. Casters sized for thresholds and elevator gaps, at least two braking; high-temperature casters only if the cart truly sees wash heat. Push handles at a height that lets someone see over the load. Accessory rails: sharps bracket, glove box holder, covered bins, IV pole, waste bin, monitor mount. Locks: drawer locks, seal lock bars and seals for tamper evidence, push-button, keyless touchpad or electronic PIN, plus LockView cart management software where an audit trail is wanted.

This is housekeeping practice and equipment selection — not a certification, an infection-prevention protocol or a medical claim. Your infection prevention and environmental services teams own the protocol, and cleaning products must follow facility policy and the care instructions for the finish. Equipment choice can make it easier to follow:

• Removable shelf mats — polymer mats lift off to be cleaned away from the unit.
• Fewer catch points — open grid and smooth surfaces hold less dust than pans with seams.
• Roll-under clearance — a high bottom shelf, or a unit that rolls out, lets a scrubber reach the floor.
• Finish by room — chrome for dry rooms, epoxy and Metroseal for humid areas, stainless for wet or hot routines. Chrome in a decon room is the classic mistake.
• Hard, non-porous surfaces — no fabric or unsealed wood on a cart wiped between rooms.

Metro offers Microban product protection on selected lines; we identify by model where it applies and make no health claim. Listings are model-specific — send your model list and we confirm status in writing.