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To the average patient, healthcare supply chain operations are not immediately apparent. Behind the scenes, a network of manufacturers and distributors comprises an extensive network working to ensure medicines and other equipment make it to the right destination safely and on time. In its own way, supply chain holds as important a role as the providers who diagnose and serve our patients. Without supply chain technicians, who handle everything from the paper used to print prescriptions to pharmaceuticals, doctors and nurses wouldn’t have the means to fulfill their duties.

It’s crucial for Mason Health’s Supply Chain department to ensure the right supplies arrive; it’s also important to get the right amount. Ordering too many or too few products means spending valuable resources on something that might not get used or might be unavailable in critical situations. The Supply Chain team is actively involved in supporting The District’s environmental stewardship and sustainability strategies because waste avoidance is at the top of everyone’s list

That’s why Mason Health has placed an emphasis on efficiency under Sean Hazlett, CMRP, MBA, Mason Health’s Director of Supply Chain. He has more than three decades of supply chain leadership experience. Prior to Mason Health, Hazlett worked at Yuma Regional Medical Center in Yuma, AZ, where he rebuilt the Supply Chain team adding Supply Chain Value Analysis; Purchased Services and Contracting. During his four years there, Yuma Regional booked over $22M in savings. Before that, Hazlett worked at Providence Health in Renton, WA, where he was initially recruited to start their Independent Consolidate Service Center.  Hazlett oversaw a 200,000 square foot warehouse that provided medical supplies and IT technology to 32 hospitals and over 1,000 clinics across five states.

Though Mason Health’s sustainability efforts began before Hazlett’s arrival in 2022, he has been a valuable member of The District’s “Green Team.” In 2020, Mason Health became the first of the Washington Rural Health Collaborative to join Practice Greenhealth, the leading nonprofit membership and networking organization for sustainable health care. Since joining Practice Greenhealth, The District has earned four Environmental Excellence Awards, two Greening the Operating Room Awards, the Making Medicine Mercury Free Award, and the Emerald Award.

One of Practice Greenhealth’s initiatives is reducing landfill waste; Supply Chain answered that call by partnering with Capital Business Machines (CBM) on a toner recycling program. When a department has a used toner cartridge or toner waste collection bin, they send it to supply chain; once supply chain has a full box, they contact CBM to come and collect them for recycling. Since embarking on the partnership in June 2025, The District has recycled 64 toner cartridges (as of Q2 2026).

“Capital Business Machines is a great partner that has worked with Mason Health to provide us with copiers and printers across the district.  The partnership has been great and has saved Mason Health time and money by providing a complete print management solution,” said Hazlett. “The Toner & Waste Collection recycling project was part of a Practice Greenhealth initiative to help reduce landfill waste and providing a resource to recycle the used cartridges reducing the need for as much new all the time.”

Recycling toner cartridges is only part of Supply Chain’s environmental stewardship efforts. In 2025, Mason Health diverted more than 3,300 single-use devices and 1,300 pounds of waste from landfills. Through a recycled medical waste (RMW) program, The District reduced its carbon footprint by 40% and achieved nearly $400 in RMW savings. Through the Medline Renewal Surgical Device Waste Avoidance program, Mason Health diverted nearly 4,600 pounds of waste in 2025, reducing CO₂ emissions by 68 metric tons and saving more than $55,500. Plus, Mason Health uses Natural Choice copy paper, whose mill has a 44% smaller carbon footprint producing 100% recyclable products.

In the name of efficiency and sustainability, Supply Chain also recently underwent a revamp of its warehouse. Shelves were reorganized, categorized by color, and sorted by location and product type. A new receiving door and secure area was established to allow for special delivery of up to six pallets of equipment a day. Perhaps most importantly, a system was established to allow departments to come in after hours, fill out Periodic Automatic Replenishment (PAR) sheet, and easily pick up the stock they need without help from technicians. “Previously, people would come in and grab materials and there wasn’t a good way to track what was happening,” said Hazlett.

Under Hazlett, Supply Chain reviews 100-200 items per month and tracks inventory monthly. With a system in place, they’ve been able to eliminate an estimated $70-$80,000 in unnecessary inventory. Hazlett’s team is working on transitioning as many of The District’s 160 vendors (the goal is 80% buy-in) to GHX, a digital healthcare supply chain management platform, for Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) transmissions in an effort to reduce paper purchase orders. And here’s where it all ties together: the Toner Recycling program “was a LEAN project that allow us to free up almost 3 whole shelves previously used to stock Toner Cartridges, this space is now being utilized to stock other key items needed across the District for Patient care,” said Hazlett.

“One of the few positives to come out of the pandemic is that Supply Chain is valued as an essential service,” Hazlett said. “It’s not viewed simply as an expense; it’s a necessary part of healthcare operations.” Mason Health Supply Chain has a simple motto – “Fill the Hands that Heal!” and Hazlett and his team are focused on continuous improvement and stock optimization projects across The District to find ways to fulfill that promise every day.

Mason Health, Public Hospital District No. 1 of Mason County is ISO 9001 Quality Management System certified by Det Norske Veritas (DNV) and is a licensed and accredited acute care hospital with a level four emergency trauma designation. The Board of Hospital District Commissioners are Don Welander, President, Lori Brady, Secretary, and Pamela Schlauderaff, Trustee. Mason General Hospital and Mason Clinic are ENERGY STAR® certified and Mason Health is the recipient of one Practice Greenhealth Environmental Excellence Award, three Partner for Change Awards, two Greening the Operating Room Awards, the Making Medicine Mercury Free Award and the 2025 Emerald Award. To learn more about Mason Health’s sustainability efforts, visit https://www.masonhealth.com/about/sustainability-environmental-stewardship. There are more than 100 physicians on staff in 19 specialties. For more information or to find a health care provider, visit
www.masonhealth.com. To learn more about DNV, visit www.dnv.com/healthcare.