Reimagining PPE production to build a sustainable supply chain and create good jobs

PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Bich Ha Pham, Manager, Communications & Policy, Healthcare Anchor Network, 202-559-1473 ext 311, bpham@democracycollaborative.org
 

Anchor Impact Purchasing Summit Convenes 42 Health System Leaders Representing 47 States and D.C. to catalyze PPE reform; White Paper Released

Washington, DC, November 18, 2020 – President-Elect Joe Biden has prioritized the domestic production of personal protective equipment (PPE) to ensure full access to these supplies in emergencies. Today the Healthcare Anchor Network (HAN) released a white paper Reimagining Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Supply Chains that calls for national leadership and healthcare sector collaboration to create PPE production capacity for American sourced and manufactured supplies.

­­The white paper is being released at the HAN Anchoring Resilience: Aligning Supply Chains and Impact Purchasing for Community Health summit. The white paper includes interviews with 17 HAN member senior supply chain executives and other leaders who discussed the supply chain challenges and stressed the critical need to build resilient supply chains. We will need leadership from health sector leaders—and specific commitments—in order to have significant impact.   

The summit, supported by Kaiser Permanente in collaboration with Health Care Without Harm and Practice Greenhealth, aims to catalyze the conversation around how the healthcare sector could collaborate to more intentionally onshore and localize production of PPE and other important supplies with emphasis on equity, sustainability, and supply chain resilience. Forty-two HAN health system leaders representing 47 states and D.C., and some of the largest private sector employers in their states, are participating in the summit.

“This is the first summit to convene health systems to reimagine PPE production with a lens toward equity, sustainability and community wealth building,” shared David Zuckerman, Director of the Healthcare Anchor Network. “Health systems can intentionally leverage their procurement, hiring, and investment practices to advance health equity and build more inclusive and sustainable local economies. Domestic PPE production can lead to sustainable procurement and targeted hiring if intentionally planned,” added Zuckerman.

“Manufacturing challenges hit the healthcare sector hard with the PPE supplies disruption significantly impacting daily life to patients and clinicians,” stated Mary Beth Lang, Chief Supply Chain and Purchasing Officer, Kaiser Permanente. “The pandemic has revealed gaps in the supply chain and inventory systems that we must address. This includes developing more local/US based PPE manufacturers and supply chains,” added Lang.

The speakers at the summit are:

• Mary Beth Lang, Chief Supply Chain and Purchasing Officer, Kaiser Permanente, discusses their Total Health requirement for vendors and funding the Inner City Capital Connections (ICCC) program for small businesses in the Greater Bay Area and beyond.
• Gary Cohen, President & Founder, Health Care Without Harm, discusses the importance of partnership and connecting environmental sustainability to SDOH/anchor mission.
• Simrit Sandhu, Chief Supply Chain and Support Services Officer, Cleveland Clinic, discusses how their support of the Evergreen Cooperative Laundry is an example of how health systems can build community wealth.
• Bruce Radcliff, Senior Vice President of Supply Chain, Advocate Aurora Health, discusses their 100% Renewable Energy Commitment by 2030.
• Jeremy Strong, Vice President of Supply Chain, Rush University System for Health, discusses Concordance Healthcare Solutions (a prime vendor and distributor) opening a distribution warehouse on the west side of Chicago to serve RUSH and hiring staff from that same community.
• John Wright, Vice President of Supply Chain & Support Services, Intermountain Healthcare, discusses their efforts engaging local, diverse, and sustainable suppliers through their four Supplier Day Events held over the last year.

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