“In light of surging demand for protective and medical equipment, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) has instated enterprise-level supply chain management to address the pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic…”
“Prior to the outbreak of COVID-19 within the U.S., the VA relied on a more localized model for providers to manage the stocking and distribution of medical supplies. Although that’s feasible under normal operation, VA executives quickly realized this model would not be sustainable during the current public health crisis…”
“VA leadership responded by establishing a more centralized infrastructure for both monitoring and directing the distribution of vital medical supplies, with a particular focus on mitigating potential shortages of protecting equipment. This has been a special priority considering the VA’s ‘Fourth Mission’ during a national emergency involves caring for civilian patients when local non-VA clinics become overwhelmed.”
“’We knew that in order to come out in a better posture, we had to bring the management of the supply chain up to an enterprise level,’ Mersereau-Cooper said. ‘That meant we had to stand up an enterprise distribution center, enterprise supply chain, and things that we normally don’t do at an enterprise level since the sites usually manage these on their own…'” Read the full article here.
Source: How VA Adjusted Medical Supply Chain Management Amid Pandemic – By Adam Patterson, May 13, 2020. GovernmentCIO.
