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Services / Case Study – Health and Medical – Urgent Care Support

A caring manufacturer, a caring forwarder and his dependable vendors played a pivotal role in saving lives.

CUSTOMER Thoratec Corporation is a United States-based company that develops, manufactures, and markets proprietary medical devices used for mechanical circulatory support for the treatment of heart-failure patients worldwide. It is a global leader in mechanical circulatory support devices, particularly in ventricular assist devices (VADs). For chronic circulatory support for late-stage heart-failure patients, Thoratec’s primary product lines are its ventricular assist devices: the HeartMate 3 Left Ventricular Assist System (HeartMate 3), and the Thoratec Paracorporeal Ventricular Assist Device (PVAD). For acute circulatory support, the company’s product lines are the CentriMag Acute Circulatory System (CentriMag); and for pediatric patients the PediMag Acute Circulatory System, known as PediVAS outside the U.S. Incorporated in 1976, Thoratec is headquartered in Pleasanton, California. In 2015 the company was acquired by St. Jude Medical, a global medical-device company headquartered in Saint Paul, Minnesota. In January 2017, St. Jude was acquired by Abbott Laboratories.

NEED The client receives an urgent call from a Dallas hospital. They have two young girls involved in a car accident who were in dire need for 2 of a specific device that provides heart support. It was 3:00 AM and the equipment was large, requiring specialized handling. Time was of the utmost urgency and would require a race against the clock to make this happen in time to give the patients a fighting chance. They knew this shipment had to happen and happen quickly and without mishap.

TEAM SOLUTION The owner of the Team San Francisco Branch Office received the call from his customer just slightly after 3:00 AM advising the urgent need from a hospital in Dallas. He made a call to his airline representative who immediately was on-board, realizing the urgency. Team SFO had a long-term relationship with their customer and happened to have two of the machines needed actually on their dock. The shipment was loaded, paperwork was cut and they were on their way to the airport in SFO where a crew leader and a tug were on-hand waiting at the dock door. Equipment was netted down, the airline held the flight for 20 minutes after notifying the passengers. The freight was loaded in the belly of the plane and the shipment was met by an informed crew who had the freight in Team hands in 34 minutes. From the call @ 3:00 AM PT to the door/delivery @ 11:35 AM PT, 1500 pounds of lifesaving equipment was delivered with an outcome that could not have had a happier ending!