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.
Today, on the day before Thanksgiving, I can’t help but be a bit reflective. This is true every year, but especially so this one. We all (not to mention our families, organizations, communities, etc.) have been challenged like never before. That also makes it a year where those things for which we are grateful are especially pronounced.
At MedSpeed, we take our role in healthcare seriously. We understand each item must be delivered to the right place at the right time for providers to care for patients. This point has never been clearer to me than in 2020. Supporting our customers as they implement massive testing strategies, distribute PPE and reallocate equipment and pharmaceuticals has challenged MedSpeeders to assure the very highest levels of performance.
This week, October 4-10, is designated by AHRMM as National Health Care Supply Chain Week. It is so designated, among other reasons, to allow for recognition and appreciation of the healthcare supply chain professionals who, in their work, enable healthcare to carry out its vital mission. The purpose of today’s blog, first and foremost, is for MedSpeed to join in that chorus of appreciation. Thank you supply chain professionals for all you do!
Over the past few weeks, I’ve shared stories about healthcare leaders who have met the challenges of COVID-19 head-on with resourcefulness. The final story comes from our customer in Washington, MultiCare Health System, which was recently featured in Healthcare Purchasing News.
One of the interesting things about our vantage point in this industry, at this time, is the wealth of inspirational stories we are seeing every day. One such story comes from Advocate Aurora Health in Milwaukee, which was featured in a recent Healthcare Purchasing News article.
During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Advocate Aurora’s distribution center quickly reached capacity. The Advocate Aurora team supply chain team needed to set up a warehouse to provide PPE in support of their clinicians and patients – and fast.