SURGICAL/CRITICAL CARE SURGICAL/CRITICAL CARE
Underlining, not undermining, supply chain service to critical care
by Rick Dana Barlow F
rom clinical, fi nancial and operational standpoints, the - pandemic brought a critical-care attitude and
mindset to healthcare delivery due to the serious nature of the viral spread and the mortality rate of certain patient population segments. s revealed by the overall industry response healthcare and beyond, the pan- demic stretched, strained and bent the sup- ply chain , along with most other operations within healthcare organiations. ut, some critics argued the pandemic actually caused the supply chain to buckle and even break, basing their opinions on product shortages, backlogged orders and supplier shipping receiving response times that limited inven- tory access and availability. or critical care nurses who must be ready
to act in a moment’s notice as a key part of their mission and occupation, what they do represents standard operating procedure within the pressure cooker environment of the intensive care unit and cardiac care unit . t’s not necessarily that critical care con- tinually works in crisis mode, but crises certainly happen more frequently than not, and in a different way than, say, within the mergency oom at a maor inner-city hospital. While many facilities eperienced pan- demic-related supply disruptions daily for the last two years, critical care clinicians feel they have eperienced the same for even longer. er Healthcare Purchasing News interviews
with critical care nurses during the last two decades search HPN nline, the sup- ply chain issue centers more on priority, recognition, respect and understanding for product and service requests that too frequently turn into demands as clinical pressure mounts.
Being creative ritical are urse arah Wells, .., , , learned ust how much of a problem the pandemic would pose on the supply chain early on, specifically for access to personal protective equip- ment . frontline nurse in the emergency and radiology departments at niversity of alifornia an rancisco ealth and John uir ealth, Wells received a simple but curious tet from a colleague in ew Jersey in the pring of that read, We are running out of isolation gowns Wells epressed confusion for her, recalling that the mere idea of running out of such basic inventory at a large hospital seemed ridiculous. he magnitude of the situation hit home
Sarah Wells
for Wells when she started receiving instruc- tions to wear her one-time-use – fi rst, masks for a whole shift, then for several shifts, and then as long as the mask would hold up. found out that this phenomenon was happening across the country, and as a nurse who always wanted to fi problems, started looking into a solution, she said. Wells eventually organied an effort to
get to frontline healthcare workers throughout the nation, called the are ackage roect. t the height of the shortages, according to Wells, the proect distributed more than , items to more than individuals and facilities in states and eico during and . y proect was ust one of thousands
where individuals in need of items due to the supply chain shortages came together with their resources to help fi ll the gaps, Wells said. rom this eperience, learned that healthcare workers are incredibly
14 May 2022 • HEALTHCARE PURCHASING NEWS •
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creative and resourceful when it comes to keeping themselves and their patients safe. Wells, ounder of ew hing urse
www.newthingnurse.com, which helps nurses make academic and professional changes and decisions in their careers and lives, was one of nurses who received the ircle of cellence ward in . he was nominated by nurse colleagues in part for her efforts to address the short- age. Wells also is a member of the merican ssociation of ritical are urses , which is hosting its ational eaching nstitute this month in ouston. Jennifer ageotte, artner, iamond
torage olutions, echoes the sentiment and motiva- tion of Wells, a philosophy in which her company operates. t the outset of this pan- demic, we all heard about the critical shortages and the challenges it cre- ated for our medical response teams. t was through creativity and teamwork that we saw respirators being decontaminated and reused in order to navigate the short- ages and allow our healthcare workers to continue to urgently care for patients, ageotte said. his quick adaptation and creation of a new process also meant thinking through how to store, move and contain contaminated or sensitive supplies most effi ciently and safely. here was great collaboration between government agencies, healthcare suppliers, and healthcare facili- ties. his is an area of focus for iamond torage olutions – to fi nd similar ways to support creativity, quick adaption and fl eibility. obert Wittwer, enior ice resident
Jennifer Nageotte
of rofessional ervices, scom mericas, recognies and acknowledges the creativity
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