Looking outside to meet internal challenges: the benefits of outsourcing.

Providing resourceful solutions to common facility management challenges can require many steps, including internal and external research, evaluating potential options, and implementing new protocols. The outpatient surgical services administrator at the Surgical Center of York and the Endoscopy Center of Memorial Hospital, York, Pennsylvania, addressed the challenge of managing and meeting surgeons' expectations and requests for better equipment and increased patient volume for ophthalmology procedures while maintaining a strict budget. Outsourcing of surgical equipment was identified as a viable option to meet these needs.