Welcome to our 2019 Social Responsibility Report
Learn how we’re working together to make our communities—and our planet—healthier, stronger
and more sustainable.
Welcome to our 2019 Social Responsibility Report
Learn how we’re working together to make our communities—and our planet—healthier, stronger
and more sustainable.
Transformative Vision
Our approach to building a better world
We make healthcare run better. This mission holds true not only for our healthcare partners but for the world we live in. This mission, combined with our agility and scale, shapes how we serve our communities and the environment.
Transformative Vision
Our approach to building a better world
We make healthcare run better. This mission holds true not only for our healthcare partners but for the world we live in. This mission, combined with our agility and scale, shapes how we serve our communities and the environment.
A message from our leaders
We all play a role in ensuring a world full of good health, safety and security. As a company and integrated partner supporting health systems and their patients, Medline has spent more than 50 years making healthcare run better. Our efforts extend beyond our products and services and into the communities where we live and work, as well as low-resource communities around the world.
Here are just a few of our accomplishments from 2019:
- Our total carbon dioxide emissions per square foot of space was reduced by 5%, helping make Medline more eco-friendly and energy efficient.
- Medline ReNewal, our device-reprocessing arm of the business, reprocessed more than 5 million instruments, diverting more than 1 million pounds of waste from landfills.
- Through our Community Impact Grant program, we donated $350,000 to organizations focused on breast cancer, medical care transportation and healthcare for vulnerable populations.
- We led eight unique global health projects focused on supply chain optimization, perioperative efficiency and health education designed to empower communities and free up resources. We also donated $3.1 million in product to medical relief organizations.
While the information presented in our 2019 Social Responsibility Report is looking back a year, we’re proud of not only what we’ve accomplished, but the foundation we’ve set to continue helping make a lasting and sustainable impact on individuals and their communities, around the world, for years to come.
Andy Mills
President
Charlie Mills
Chief Executive Officer
Jim Abrams
Chief Operating Officer
About Medline
We’re a healthcare company–a manufacturer, distributor and so much more. Our mission is to improve healthcare operating performance across the continuum.
What we do
Medline works with health systems large and small to provide the clinical and supply chain resources they need to deliver their best care to every patient.
How we do it
With the agility of a family-owned business and the scale of a large, financially strong company, we’re able to invest in our partners’ long-term growth and rapidly respond with customized solutions.
What we value
- Our commitment to our healthcare partners, our colleagues and our communities
- Being open to new ideas, two-way communication and challenging the status quo
- Continuously improving our quality, service and results, and doing so with integrity
- Doing whatever it takes to help our partners provide the best care
These values shape every aspect of our day-to-day business and our approach to social responsibility.
26,000+
employees worldwide
90+
countries where we do business
550,000+
medical and surgical products
$13.9 billion
in overall sales
Our social responsibility
As committed as we are to serving our partners, we are equally committed to serving humanity. Social responsibility is in the fabric of who we are, from the way we do business to the pressing issues we tackle. We believe change is possible and we’re using our agility and our scale to make it happen, creating solutions that strengthen communities, preserve the environment and improve people’s access to care.
We’re committed to making a lasting positive social and environmental impact here in the U.S. and around the world. Our Corporate Social Responsibility program brings the best of Medline–our hands-on expertise, breadth of experience and financial resources–to the people and organizations that need us most.
What we do to make a lasting impact
We work together with our healthcare partners, employees and communities to identify the places–and the causes–where we can make the biggest impact.
Global Health
Through our Global Health Initiative, we help overcome the barriers that prevent people from getting the healthcare they deserve. We do this by taking what we’ve learned from working with the world’s top health systems and bringing it to underserved communities. These efforts help build strong, resilient health systems all around the world.
Community Impact
We help strengthen our communities by working to ensure every person can have an equal chance at leading a healthy life. We do this by supporting local organizations with programs to address the social, environmental and economic conditions that impact people’s health outcomes.
Sustainability
Our sustainability solutions help protect the environment and, by building healthier energy sources, we’re reducing our impact on the environment–and helping our partners do the same.
Supporting UN Sustainable Development Goals
Our vision for building a better world is closely tied to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations in 2015. The SDGs are 17 global initiatives for achieving a sustainable future for all by the year 2030. The work we do to create positive social change aligns with many of these goals, including those to protect the health and well-being of all people, promote sustainable economic growth and ensure access to affordable, clean energy.
Community Impact
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Global Health
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Sustainability
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Employee Well-being
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Ethics and Compliance
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Global Health
Making healthcare run better, everywhere we go
We understand that much of the world lives in a clinical desert, unable to access even the most basic care. Partnering with nonprofit organizations and health facilities all over the world, we create solutions that empower communities and free up the resources that caregivers need to provide their best care.
Global Health
Making healthcare run better, everywhere we go
We understand that much of the world lives in a clinical desert, unable to access even the most basic care. Partnering with nonprofit organizations and health facilities all over the world, we create solutions that empower communities and free up the resources that caregivers need to provide their best care.
We focus on three key areas
We’re helping healthcare facilities work more efficiently, treat more patients and share the benefits of health education.
Supply chain optimization
We analyze supply chain performance, looking for bottlenecks, process breakdowns and opportunities to improve. We then introduce new processes to help control costs, effectively manage donations, reduce inventory waste and optimize performance.
Perioperative efficiency
We identify the processes healthcare facilities use to manage their operating rooms, and pinpoint challenges within these processes. Then, we work together to create and implement new efficiencies, from stocking inventory to organizing supplies and storage areas. These improvements support perioperative efficiencies for the long haul.
Health education
We assess a community’s health education to find gaps in learning. We then fill in these gaps by teaching everyday healthy habits such as hand hygiene, oral hygiene and basic first aid. Reinforcing—and practicing—these habits creates a ripple effect, advancing the health and well-being of whole communities.
Our global impact at a glance
Together with our international partners, here’s what we accomplished in 2019:
8
global health projects
471
patients served through our global health projects
$3.1 million
in product donated to medical relief organizations
14,594
pairs of surgical gloves donated for sight-restoring surgeries
Bringing worldwide medical relief
We work with international aid organizations to collect Medline surplus and unused items and deliver them to developing regions globally. In 2019, Medline donated the equivalent of 116 metric tons of product–valued at over $3.1 million–to the following organizations:
- International Aid
- MAP International
- Medical Teams International
- MedShare
- Project C.U.R.E.
- SEE International
- Direct Relief
- Matthew 25 Ministries
Our products reached 262 facilities, caring for people across 77 different countries.
Making sure everyone gets the healthcare they deserve
Along with donating products, our employees volunteer their time and expertise to help facilities and communities in need. We work together to solve their most pressing challenges during a series of volunteer service trips, where our employees volunteer their skills and expertise toward a global health project. Here are the partnerships and projects we pursued in 2019:
