We have all learned a lot since spring 2020, and a recent Becker’s Hospital Review article asked healthcare leaders to weigh in on the supply chain and what they now realize. Here are some outtakes that I thought were worth sharing.
- Reid Jones, CEO of UAB Medicine (Birmingham, AL.): The vitality of the supply chain is certainly among the top concerns facing hospitals and medical providers today. Unfortunately, it’s a multifaceted issue with no easy solutions.
- John Mikesic, Executive Director of Supply Chain for University of Missouri Health Care (Columbia, MO): A year and a half ago it was, “Where am I going to get gloves?” “Where am I going to get gowns?” Now we may not be in that situation anymore; however, we still do communicate with our senior leadership in terms of where we stand. I think the supply chain disruptions will warrant increased time and effort, on a daily basis, as we move forward.
- Christopher O’Connor, President and Incoming CEO of Yale (New Haven, CT) Health: We are ensuring that critical medical supplies have some sort of guaranteed supply or are within an available, owned stockpile. This is challenging from a logistics and cost standpoint, so it is a delicate balance.
- Paul Rothman, MD. Dean and CEO of Johns Hopkins Medicine (Baltimore, MD): We are making the best of a complex and difficult situation, and as always, our focus is on doing everything we can for our patients, our communities and our employees.
While we have come a long way since the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, continuing the work on ensuring a sturdy supply chain is ongoing and agility remains essential
In the article, Johnson uses the 20th anniversary of the September 11th attacks to reflect on the lives that could have been saved if the Federal Aviation Administration had required commercial airlines to harden their cockpit doors before the attacks. Before 9-11, the extra expense was viewed as unnecessary, but after, essential.
The events of the last 18 months in healthcare have reinforced the need to ensure we are prepared for whatever lies ahead. This is a call out to think beyond the known into the possible and even the improbable.
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