A high functioning supply chain has always been vital, but never was its true criticality more in stark relief than at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The initial shortage of PPE made headlines everywhere. As I’ve recounted in this space before, our team at MedSpeed was able to play a role in supporting our clients as they worked to ramp up their management and distribution of these lifesaving supplies during this crucial time.
The difficult part of risk mitigation is realizing what investments are needed before it’s too late.
In 4sight Health’s recent article, “September 11th and the importance of proving negatives”, David Johnson shines a light on how hard it is to prove the urgency and thereby justify the investment to avoid consequences from events we have never experienced and hope to never experience.
Last week, MedSpeed was named for the fifth time to the Inc. 5000, a list of the fastest-growing companies in America. At its heart, this is a recognition of our unbelievably dedicated team and an affirmation of their efforts.
What does a hospital system do when $1.4 trillion, one-third of the annual healthcare spend at university hospitals, was wasted by defects? They shine a light on those defects in value and then prioritize solutions to overcome them.
Recently, MedSpeed lost an RFP to renew our work with a valued customer. Within a week of the new vendor taking over the service, that customer asked us to return – and to do so with urgency.
Let me tell you the story.
A few months ago, MedSpeed got the phone call that we were not being renewed, something we have only experienced three times in our history. This news really, really hurt. But we did our best to shake it off and commit to learning from the pain. Taking this positive thought forward, we operated with excellence until our final day, at which point we shut down and dismantled our local operations.
CHI Franciscan, based in Tacoma, WA, found itself in the epicenter of the country’s first outbreak. Tracy Bradfield, the system’s Laboratory Director, oversees the labs at eight hospitals that process over 400,000 tests a month. She sat down with 4Sight Health’s Dave Johnson to discuss how they had to rapidly develop a plan to manage the overwhelming test needs and their preparation for future health emergencies.
As was true across the healthcare space, the pandemic challenged the supply chain of our client, Virtua Health. Based in Marlton, N.J., Virtua found itself on the frontlines of the early COVID surge in the New York Tri-State area last spring.
Virtua’s AVP of support services, Bill Christie, runs the system’s supply chain operations for over 200 different care sites. He recently sat down with 4sight Health to talk about how his organization was able to pivot to meet the overwhelming demands of the pandemic. From assembling ventilators in house, to utilizing shipping containers to store additional inventory, the article recaps some of the extraordinary things the Virtua team did last year, as well as Bill’s lessons learned.
The events of this past year have compelled reflection on MedSpeed’s role in healthcare and our impact on patients. Most days, it can be hard to see that impact in a tangible way. Even watching our MedSpeeders moving crates of PPE, bags of specimens or totes of pharma, our effect on the care continuum can lie below the surface.
But over the course of a severe January and February, there have been a number of incredible stories that illuminated the effect our team has on care delivery.
Yesterday, the University of Chicago Booth School of Business announced that our CEO, and the usual author of this blog, Jake Crampton, received the Chicago Booth Entrepreneurial Distinguished Alumni Award. The award recognizes an individual “who has demonstrated professional achievement of the highest caliber in the management of an enterprise.” It is particularly special as it is a milestone in a journey that began more than 20 years ago at Chicago Booth.
During this year of immense hardships and endless unknowns, we have all come together – communities, health systems, laboratories, patients, families, frontline workers – to fight tooth and nail against this ruthless pandemic. Each shift in momentum and every small step forward allows all of us to see a bit more light at the end of the tunnel.