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Made in Washington: Olympic Medical Supply |
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Written On: May/June 2007 |
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Written By: by Daniel Brunell |
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In 1959, Jay Jones was looking for a career change. He had worked in advertising for many years and owned of a successful agency. When one of his clients, a local medical supply company, fell on hard times and was faced with closing its doors, Jones saw his opportunity and seized it.
Jones purchased the struggling business and, over the next six years, he put the company back on its feet. In 1965, he incorporated as Olympic Surgical Supply.
In business for more than 40 years, Olympic Medical Corp. (as it is now known) supplies a wide range of products to the medical community, ranging from pediatric therapeutic equipment and newborn baby scales to sterilizers, heart monitors and suture holding devices.
All of the equipment that Olympic Medical sells is developed and manufactured at their south Seattle facility. With a workforce of 105 employees, Olympic has a highly skilled and experienced workforce. "There are a few of us that have been here for more than 35 years," said Ed Bateman, vice president of operations. "The longevity of our employees is something we are very proud of."
Olympic Medical employs a very diverse workforce with a wide range of skills. Technicians, machinists, packers, painters, assembly people, welders, quality testers, marketers, sales people and managers at Olympic all have the same same goal—excellence. This commitment to quality has earned them the attention of the industry at large.
In October 2006, Olympic was acquired by Natus Medical Inc., one of the nation’s leading medical equipment suppliers. The purchase has been a windfall for Olympic. Natus has a worldwide reach, and the partnership will open up new markets for Olympic’s product line.
"The transfer from a privately owned company to a public company has made for some exciting times," said Bateman. "Business is good. We have a lot of orders, especially for our new Cool-Cap system."
The Olympic Cool-Cap is a unique new medical device for the treatment of babies born with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, a potentially fatal brain injury caused by low levels of oxygen. The Cool-Cap prevents or reduces damage to the brain by keeping the head cool while the body is maintained at a slightly below-normal temperature. The system, approved by the FDA in December 2006, works by maintaining a steady flow of cool water through a cap covering the infant's head.
"This approval brings new hope to parents of the approximately 5,000-9,000 babies each year who are born in the United States with moderate to severe hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy," said Dr. Daniel Schultz, director of the FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health. "Until now, there has been no effective treatment for these infants other than supportive care. Up to 20 percent of them died, and 25 percent suffered permanent disability because of neurological deficits."
Olympic Medical spent several years and millions of dollars in the development of the system. For a small medical supplier like Olympic, the risk associated with bringing new products to market is immense. The medical device industry is heavily regulated and any one of several potential pitfalls—from product development to FDA approval—could have sunk the Cool-Cap. However, the risk paid off. The product has been in strong demand in pediatric wards nationwide, and production of the Cool-Cap can barely keep up with the demand.
The success of the Cool-Cap has placed Olympic Medical Supply at the forefront of pediatric medical product development."We’re always looking to develop new products that not only make doctors’ jobs easier, but more efficient, as well," said Bateman. "Devices like the Cool-Cap system fill a big need that improves and saves lives. That is the real reward of what we do."
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