Bruce Hedgepeth, MD

Inventor | Humanitarian | Father

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An Inventor’s Journey : Epilogue

Bruce Hedgepeth MD July 15, 2015

The team of administrative, medical, business, and marketing members took over to think of ways to get the device in circulation and to get used by the medical community. Of course we were excited; but we ultimately needed to find an avenue to get this device on the market. Consideration was given to working within the system to include the Safety Shield in pre-packaged procedure trays that would be used in the various departments using needles and requiring protection from needle sticks. The team also worked long and hard to find the right buyer of the device to take over the manufacturing, marketing, distribution, and retail aspects of the Safety Shield.

Ultimately, a meeting was held with a company by the name of Ansell Sandel Medical Solutions, LLC which seemed to be a perfect fit. They specialize in solving medical safety problems and they are a leader in disposable safety products. A day of meetings allowed interaction between the two interested parties. I then had the opportunity to meet with their team and we had a lively and informative discussion of the Safety Shield ranging from the initial idea to the final product; and seemingly everything in between related to the usage of the device. It was an exciting time and process for me as the initial inventor, as well as all those involved as this was the first product from Mercy R&D to be produced locally. In due time, and with due diligence, an agreement was struck between the two parties with Ansell Sandel acquiring the production and marketing rights.

The initial prototype was manufactured locally by Springfield, Missouri-based Southwest Injection Mold LLC. They produced the prototype for Ansell Sandel Medical Solutions. Southwest Injection Mold then produced the first manufacturing order of the product for Ansell Sandel. This was a double bonus because not only were we able to patent a device which we thought would be useful to the medical community, but we were also able to get a local business involved and put local people to work as well.

The device can be seen on the Ansell Sandel website. It is now orange in color as that is the trademark color and identifying color of Ansell Sandel Medical Solutions LLC in the healthcare industry.

Bruce Hedgepeth MD

inventions, journey, life

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If everyone was given a chance to take to the airways and speak or write a seasonal message centered on Thanksgiving and the concept of giving thanks, I’m betting that there would be so much thankfulness, goodness, and gratefulness rushing and swirling around that we would all palpably feel it and be positively swept up and moved by it.

If we could hear it all and read it all I believe that we would be moved to think of things and remember things from our past that we have forgotten but that we are indeed thankful for as well. The fact that other people would identify and testify to the things that they are thankful for would jog our memories and that would lead us to more memories and more thankfulness, and on and on and on like a perpetual-motion giving-thanks or thanks-giving machine.

There would be remembrances of sights and sounds and smells and touches and tastes and situations and successes and failures and accomplishments and actions and laughter and tears that would evoke abundant memories about which to be thankful for. And that would just be the start.

I wonder what it would do to our collective inner being to be so thankful for all that we have and in fact for the many things that we don’t have. What would it do for the world at large? What would it do for our country, state, city, community, neighborhood, friends and family? What would it do for you and those around you? Drilling down even further, what would it do to and for me personally as a singular individual? On all accounts, I’m quite positive that it would be a very good thing.

So as the song goes “let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me,” so too, let there be thankfulness, thanksgiving, and giving of thanks more abundantly than ever before. And let it begin with me.

May your Thanksgiving be ever and forever, and ever more endless.

A Bit of a Bind(er)

Bruce Hedgepeth MD October 21, 2015

With coffee in hand, a half regular and half decaf blend that I concocted and made with my own two hands, I proceeded to my usual place of computer work where the Wi-Fi signal is the strongest, the phone connection is the weakest, the surroundings are the loneliest, and the temperature is usually the coldest. It’s that place that we all call (wait for it)…

Walking For A Reason

Bruce Hedgepeth MD October 1, 2015

There are so many permutations and combinations of reasons, scenarios, and circumstances that go into each walk that we take. Infinite multiplied by infinite still equals infinite; and literally there are an infinite number of determinants of what goes into a walk, why one goes for a walk, and what we say and see while on that walk. There might be some repetition, routine, and order to the walk, but the reasons and possibilities remains endless — and timeless too…

An Inventor’s Journey : Epilogue

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