Providence, a 51-hospital health system based in Renton, Wash., told the Times Standard that being part of a larger healthcare system has helped it to navigate shortages of personal protective gear during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Christian Hill, a spokesperson for Providence, told the publication March 18 that creating a central hub was critical to ensuring the system's hospitals were well-supplied.
"We're super fortunate to be part of an organization as large as Providence. … 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," Mr. Hill told the Times Standard.
The central hub also helped the system control costs. The system works with Medline Industries to source its supplies, Mr. Hill said.
Providence also uses system-generated data to inform materials managers of what's being used and what supplies are being forecast as needed, the Times Standard reported.
Mr. Hill told the publication that the system's main supply-related change caused by the pandemic will be the continuation of a central hub to insulate the hospitals from supply shortages.
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