Good Working Relationships

Piedmont Healthcare’s supply chain and IP teams relied on relationships for quick approvals and supply opportunities.

Atlanta-based Piedmont Healthcare’s supply chain team has always had a

good working relationship with its IP team, according to Pam Esper, executive director of strategic sourcing and contracting for Piedmont Healthcare. That relationship was very important during the past year.

“When we had to deviate from our standard products, we had a process for quick approvals so that we didn’t miss a supply opportunity,” said Esper.

Piedmont, with 11 hospitals and over 550 locations, secured additional warehouse space during the early stages of the pandemic that it still uses today. “We are still using it as we build permanent resiliency into our stocking methodology,” Esper said. “We have also committed to supply assurance programs that have been working out very well for us.”

Procedural and surgical masks were a challenge to procure for Piedmont Healthcare early last year, but it was able to find stock from several secondary suppliers until its distributors recovered. “Supply chain obtained samples that were then approved by IP,” Esper said. “Masks are a part of our PPE Assurance program.”

Like many hospitals, Piedmont used 3M’s N95 masks that were hard to find.

“Working closely with our employee health and IP teams, we sourced two other makers of FDA-certified masks, fit tested employees to these new masks and now have three manufacturers available for the clinical staff,” Esper said.

Piedmont also received many donations of PPE and other supplies throughout the pandemic. “We accepted them and then IP was asked to approve,” Esper explained. “If they didn’t meet the clinical specs, we tried to find another use – like facemasks for visitors.”

The health system purchased gloves through a standard distributor and an IPapproved secondary supplier. When gloves were restrained during the height of the pandemic, Esper said Piedmont purchased from a few smaller distributors that its supply chain team obtained samples from and were approved by its IP team.

“We’ve been able to make it through by having approved substitutes or moving product between hospitals until stock arrives.”

– Pam Esper, executive director of strategic sourcing and contracting, Piedmont Healthcare

IP team created its own solution

Piedmont’s IP and facilities teams designed an approved spray-on solution for surface disinfectant when disinfectant wipes were out of supply. “IP created the educational training on how to mix it and other key pieces of information, and supply chain provided the materials,” Esper said.

Piedmont’s IP team created a running list of all nontraditional items to be reviewed, according to Esper. “What was and wasn’t approved was listed by category in case we needed to purchase more. That list kept us from repeating the same steps over again,” Esper said. “As we move back to more normal operations, we’ll continue to find the best products to ensure our patients’ safety.”

As the health system moves back to those normal operations, the majority of PPE supply is getting back to a healthy status, according to Esper. “But what we’re finding is random products are being delayed mostly due to transportation and shipping issues,” she said. “We’ve been able to make it through by having approved substitutes or moving product between hospitals until stock arrives.”

Meanwhile, Piedmont’s IP team has been busy with its vaccine clinics and reloading a pipeline of initiatives. “We started planning for the future last May,” Esper said. “Knowing that we were expecting fall and winter surges, we worked with our operations team on building key supply stockpiles.”

“We feel good about what we’ve put in place,” Esper concluded.