One of the biggest disruptions in the supply chain caused by the coronavirus pandemic has been maintaining enough personal protective equipment. The shortage hit hospitals, medical centers and elderly care facilities especially hard as they competed against each other to secure the necessary PPE.
Genesis Health System solved that problem with a more direct approach: Along with 16 additional investors, Genesis purchased a minority stake in Prestige Ameritech, the largest domestic supplier of PPE, and manufacturer of the N95 medical-grade mask.
Lisa Rogalski, director of materials services at Genesis Health System, said the stock purchase has made a huge difference in both supply and cost.
“Early on in March, when everything first started happening, I think the biggest adjustment we made was that we began using non-traditional suppliers,” Rogalski said. “We had to look outside of our normal contracted suppliers because they were not able to supply at the volumes needed due to the fact that we were later in the game.”
Because the virus originated in China and most PPE is manufactured in China, Rogalski said “we were really challenged as far as that goes. I think that’s pretty much what every healthcare organization experienced, is that you were purchasing outside your contract. Since then, we’ve changed our thought. Typically in healthcare, we were operating a just-in-time inventory, which was very normal throughout the healthcare supply chain.
“The realization hit that PPE isn’t something in the future we are going to be able to risk running as a just-in-time inventory due to the fact that the supply chain outside of our control is not secure. We’ve been building a stockpile and we will maintain a stockpile moving forward of essential PPE.”
Rogalski said Genesis has been working to build a PPE stockpile of 120 to 150 days. She said the purchase in Prestige Ameritech has made a “significant difference.”
“They are a mask company, so they’re not able to produce all of the PPE,” he said. “The single most challenging item we had from the very beginning were N95 masks. The investment not only gave us a secure pipeline in the supply chain for those items in the United States, but it allowed us to have a standardized N95 mask. They will also create a stockpile for us beginning in September. And that’s OK because they’ve been able to provide supplies up to that point for what we need.”
The other adjustment in purchasing Genesis has made since the beginning of the pandemic is a shift away from system purchasing — meaning items were procured for the entire health system — to one of visualization distribution, a system that uses location-based information to keep track of inventory..
“I can much easier visualize my entire inventory throughout the health system on a daily basis and that was not something we were able to do previously,” Rogalski said.
Rogalski is quick to give credit to Genesis Health System CEO Doug Cropper for steering the business through challenging times.
“I am blessed to have a CEO that on Day One of the pandemic, called upon supply chain (employees) and elevated us to the executive table and said, ‘tell me what you need,'” Rogalski said. “Doug right away not just saw the value of supply chain, but I was invited to that executive table. The investment in Prestige Ameritech is because Doug understands the value in securing that supply chain back in the United States.
“It’s been a significant game changer.”
Regulators authorized AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine for use in adults throughout the European Union on Friday, amid criticism the bloc is not moving fast enough to vaccinate its population.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A former FBI lawyer was sentenced to probation for altering an email that the Justice Department relied on during its surveillance of an aide to President Donald Trump during the Russia investigation.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Tony Evers lashed out Friday at rival Republicans who tried to repeal his statewide mask mandate, saying killing the order would be a ridiculous move comparable to abolishing speed limits.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — As some conservatives in South Carolina celebrated getting a bill that would ban almost all abortions in the state past a legislative barrier and likely becoming law, they said they are not finished trying to end all abortions.
A Moscow court on Friday put the brother and several allies of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny under house arrest for two months as authorities sought to stymie more protests over the jailing of the top Kremlin foe.