Providence says it’s working the supply chain

When COVID-19 emerged about a year ago, it led to a severe shortage of N95 masks and other medical supplies health care workers needed to keep themselves safe. Providence, formerly known as St. Joseph Health, was able to better navigate that shortage by being part of a larger health care system, a spokesperson said.

Providence, which operates St. Joseph Hospital in Eureka and Redwood Memorial Hospital in Fortuna in addition to 49 others, works with supplier Medline Industries and is one of its bigger customers, making it easier to source supplies, Christian Hill, spokesperson for Providence in Northern California, said Thursday.

“We’re super fortunate to be part of an organization as large as Providence,” Hill said. ” … So we were able to source product, like those mission critical items (such as N95 masks). When people were running out and having difficulties finding them, our company was able to develop a hub.”

Hospitals in the system were able to order directly from that central hub, which helped control costs, though they were still higher than normal, Hill said.

“We really had a leg up in being able to source things that were hard to get for other small organizations,” Hill said.

Providence has system-generated data letting its material managers know what’s being used and what supplies are being forecast as needed, he said.

“It’s an extraordinary time, it still is an extraordinary time. It’s gotten better, but we have adapted and we’ve overcome.”

— Christian Hill, spokesperson for Providence-St. Joseph Health in Northern California

“So now we have plenty of masks, plenty of gowns,” Hill said, but, in keeping with what’s being seen globally, there is expected to be a shortage of nitrile gloves because of a shortage of nitrile in general.

“So those standard everyday exam gloves that nurses and physicians use, those are becoming a bit harder to source,” Hill said. “We’ve never been in a scenario where we haven’t been able to receive this product in, we’re just not able to get it as readily able as we used to.”

Hill said he doesn’t foresee the health care system having supply chain issues going forward, and that much of the pandemic was about being nimble and adapting to what was needed at that given time.

“It’s interesting that face shields were in very limited use prior to the pandemic but became vital during the pandemic because of the guidelines that were put out by the (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention),” Hill said.

The pandemic helped in fostering better relationships with Medline and the main lasting change will be the development of a central hub that helps insulate the system’s hospitals from supply shortages, Hill said.

“It’s an extraordinary time, it still is an extraordinary time,” Hill said. “It’s gotten better, but we have adapted and we’ve overcome.”