The COVID-19 has had an unprecedented impact on America’s economy, organizations, communities and families.
But the med/surg industry did not sit idly by. Whether working from home or working with an extensive list of protocols and safeguards, the industry’s med/surg reps, warehouse workers, truck drivers and more rolled up their collective sleeves and went to extraordinary lengths.
The following is part two of a series of stories that delve into different facets of the industry’s response to COVID-19, and how it has impacted the marketplace.
Henry Schein Field Sales Consultant
Adapting to meet customer needs
As a Henry Schein Field Sales Consultant, Dave Massi’s Monday through Friday usually has him on the road no later than 8:30 a.m. and home after 4:00 p.m. During COVID-19, he was home every day. “Not interacting with my customers face-to-face or being on the road was definitely different,” he said.
However, the demands of the job only intensified as the demand for personal protective equipment such as gloves, masks and gowns increased among healthcare providers. “I found myself glued to my computer screen for almost 10 hours a day due to the influx and demand for PPE and supplies,” Massi said.
Thanks to technology, Massi was able to connect with colleagues via Microsoft Teams, and participate in virtual meetings. “I’ve always been a people person and I enjoy the change of scenery when I go office to office or city to city so I certainly look forward to getting back out on the road and in front of my customers.”
Because many of Massi’s customers had shorter office hours or were simply closed, he had to ensure they were able to receive their delivery of supplies. To do so, he worked closely with customers to place and track orders; many who asked to continually order as much as possible. “The real challenge has been getting to all my customers throughout the day and ensuring I have stock available,” he said. “The demand for supplies has been unprecedented.”
Operationally, there haven’t been many issues, “as Henry Schein is such an efficient company and our technological infrastructure is easily adaptable,” Massi said. “Everyone at the company, especially those in Sales Support; our distribution center in Denver, Pennsylvania; and Frank Rivas, General Manager – Northeast, Henry Schein Medical have made this experience much smoother for not just me, but my customers.”
American Medical Supplies and Equipment
Everything will work out
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, product sourcing became paramount. “Trying to source product has been our biggest challenge,” said Victor Amat, president and owner of Miami, Florida-based American Medical Supplies & Equipment, Inc., an IMCO member. “It has also been our biggest success.”
Indeed, everybody went on allocation amid the pandemic. PPE items like gloves, goggles, face shields and masks were difficult to secure, but so were other items like hand sanitizer and alcohol. “We’ve been able to source some of these products outside of the regular supply chain,” said Amat.
While being based in a large metro area like Dade County with a population near 3 million comes with many advantages like a large amount of importers and exporters, during the pandemic companies faced trying to procure supplies from untraditional sources. “You’re going to have crazy characters out there that are going to try to move PPE product,” said Amat. “I heard of a guy who has a truck parts company that was sourcing product out of China. I don’t know how he did it. He was coming over to us trying to sell masks. We’ve had a lot of characters come by or call us regarding PPE products.”
Amat said American Medical Supplies didn’t buy from 99% of them. “I bought through people that I knew or that were recommended.”
Unfortunately, not everyone went that route, he said. For instance, one customer gave a supposed PPE vendor money up front for an order of N95 masks and never heard from the person again. “There were a few of those stories from our customers,” said Amat. “And that’s going to happen. I’ve heard of other distributors getting burned along with customers. You start going down rabbit holes chasing product and you may find a dead end, or worse. It’s very frustrating and annoying.”
Amat said in one instance he gave a purchase order to an exporter that he knew, but canceled three days later when the exporter tried to raise the price. “I had to cancel the order because I’m not going to be a part of that.”
Making the most out of the situation
Over and over, Amat would tell his team not to panic. “I told my sales guys, ‘If we don’t panic, if we do the best we can to fulfill our customer’s needs, everything will work out.’”
Their larger customers during the pandemic were community health centers. “They were busier than regular doctor practices,” said Amat. “We hustled to get product for them and deliver it in a timely manner.” One customer had the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention set up a drive-thru testing location for COVID-19. Another customer set up a triage center outside so they could triage the very sick patients and funnel them to a different area and not the regular lobby. American Medical Supplies set them up with things like tents and screens.
Because most customers were closed or not seeing clients in person, it reduced the amount of supplies being consumed. “It gave us a pause,” said Amat. American Medical Supplies was able to bring more product in stock so that when customers did open up, there would be enough product for them.
American Medical Supplies also used the down period to do sanitize its facility, vehicles and products, and do a full inventory. “We decided everybody was going to do inventory,” Amat said. “We normally do cycle counts every quarter. So we did inventory in late April, and it was accurate and good. I had a rookie sales rep and it was good for him to see other items in the warehouse that he wasn’t familiar with.”
Shared Service Systems
Above and beyond
The COVID-19 crisis did not come at an opportune time for any hospital or health system. But for some healthcare providers, the pandemic turned traditional transitions and transactions into unprecedented challenges amid supply disruptions.
For instance, Salina Regional Health Center, in Salina, Kansas, had just made a switch from one vendor to Shared Service Systems for its distribution needs. Shared Service Systems, an NDC member, offers distribution services for medical/surgical supplies across the states of Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri and Kansas from their main distribution center in Omaha, Nebraska as well as a second distribution center in Lincoln, Nebraska. Under ordinary circumstances, that change would come with its share of challenges to work through. But amid COVID-19, the situation became dire. There was no usage history to work from, thus no allocation.
“So our sales and purchasing teams went above and beyond to ensure that we got allocations from the larger distributors for Salina so they could stay in business,” said Steve Rogers, president of Shared Service Systems.
Another customer, Grand Island Regional Medical Center, in Grand Island, Nebraska had not even opened yet when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Their first inspection was set for April 22. In order to pass that inspection, they needed to have enough product stocked for 22 patients. “We’re talking about a brand new hospital with no usage to date,” said Rogers. “But our suppliers understood the situation. We got Grand Island enough product to pass the inspection.”
Everybody ‘doing their part’
The last few months have been a tough road for both suppliers and customers, said Rogers. “Nobody was ready for the surge that was coming. Plus people were scared, and were trying to buy up more than they should.”
Rogers said Shared Service Systems was up front with customers about the supply situation and the need to work through allocations of products. “So if you’ve bought 20 cases a month in the last six months, you’ll still continue to get that 20 cases a month, or to the best of our abilities. That kind of made everybody settle down.”
Shared Service Systems was also in frequent communication with its outside distributors to gauge product availability. “Having a strong relationship with our outside distributors helped greatly as well.”
As the conditions surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic evolved, the rules to abide by frequently changed. For instance, drivers used to arriving at a hospital at 3 a.m. to make a deliveries now found locked doors and changed hours. Flexibility was key. “We’d communicate the next day with those customers, and then resolve it and move forward because it was in everybody’s best interest to continue to get things on a timely manner,” Rogers said.
The outpouring of support from the community has been tremendous. “One thing that has kind of blown us away is how the Omaha, Council Bluffs and Fremont communities have really stepped up to help us in this time of need,” Rogers said. “And not just us, but health systems around the area.” From individuals to organizations, donations of PPE-related supplies came flooding into the local healthcare providers. A local middle school from Gretna, Nebraska even got into the act, with teachers and students gathering up all of the unused hand sanitizer from the school year that had been canceled and delivering it to Shared Service Systems to distribute where needed. Another school donated goggles and disinfecting cabinets from their chemistry classes.
“It’s just been very humbling, and we are incredibly grateful for so many people that stepped up to provide us a little bit of cushion when it came to some of those supplies that we truly needed for our frontline staff,” said Rogers.
Incidentally, Rogers stepped into the role of president of Shared Service Systems in January, months earlier than the initial plan. The original plan had been for him to go from the company’s COO to president in the fall. “It’s been a roller coaster trying to learn the business, trying to keep the staffing here, and on top of that, having the COVID-19 crisis hit and opening new hospital or large hospital contracts,” said Rogers. “To say the least it has not been boring.”
Fortunately, Rogers said he has a really good team to work with. “We get along very well; everybody does their part. We communicate well, and communication and teamwork are your two biggest factors to success.”
Sidebar:
Planning for the future
Rogers said he foresees two shifts in thinking from the industry as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The first is the critical need for contingency planning and procedures across all organizations, both providers and suppliers. “Going forward, I think you’re going to see a lot of hospitals changing their contingency plans and procedures regarding outbreaks like this.”
Rogers also said that there should be more of an emphasis on standardization. Inventory levels at some hospitals resemble the shelves at Walmart or other retail stores where you may see 15 different choices for one product category, he said. “What ends up happening is you get too many choices and then you’re not ordering enough and sometimes those choices aren’t available anymore.” However, if providers can draw their supply down to a few choices and order more from those choices, the chances of having more product on hand increase.