HOUSTON — The pandemic has sparked supply chain issues that impact us all. The Texas Medical Center, which is the largest medical complex in the world, is feeling it too.
One of the hospitals dealing with supply chain issues is Houston Methodist.
Their COVID-19 laboratories process hundreds – sometimes thousands – of samples per day, which means they go through test tubes and plastic plates fast.
“I never took a class in med school on supply chain, so I wasn’t expecting to navigate these issues,” said Wesley Long, Houston Methodist.
Dr. Long says supply chain issues have been a constant problem throughout the pandemic. Sometimes it’s due to a shortage of materials, but recently the issue is a staffing shortage.
“We had one vendor that just needed everything to be sterilized before it could be shipped. But the sterilization plant was closed because too many workers had COVID,” said Dr. Long.
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David Peck is in charge of supply chain management for the entire Houston Methodist health system.
“Anything with resin or plastic, blood tubes, IV kits, IV tubing things like that have been a real challenge,” said Peck, VP of supply chain management.
He says at one point early in the pandemic, the hospital even chartered a plane to China to get the swabs needed for COVID testing.
Because getting items from overseas has become so unpredictable, he says Methodist has started paying to have critical supplies like gloves and IV fluids made in the U.S.
“We’ve gone one step further and made them here in Houston, so if I need it, I can get it that day if necessary,” said Peck.
He says they’ve been able to plan ahead and stockpile, so supply chain issues never become a problem for patients, especially since the pandemic has reinforced the importance of getting test results and medical care quickly when you need it.