May 2013
| Business World Magazine | 243
in time and money, which can detract from
primary functions relating to the care of pa-
tients.
Healthcare organizations have increas-
ingly relied on the benefits from outsourc-
ing such functions and this was the case in
this area of Virginia more than thirty years
ago. Shared Hospital Services is guided by
a Board of Directors representing the vari-
ous healthcare organizations in the region.
Each benefits from the economies of scale
to secure service, savings, efficiencies and en-
hanced safety through measures implement-
ed and overseen by Smoyer.
LAUNDRY CYCLE OF
CHANGE
Shared Hospital Services processes more
than 15 million pounds of laundry a year,
and that’s an achievement born largely from
the innovations that have added to capa-
bilities in the industry. Upon his arrival at
Shared Medical Services, Smoyer was tasked
in a redevelopment initiative which saw old
equipment replaced and functions formerly
conducted by-hand now achieved through
means of automation.
For example, the laundry formerly re-
lied on a totally manual handling system for
