In this time of great uncertainty and medical need, Professional Women in Healthcare® (PWH®) wants the industry to know, “We are here for you.” Although the leadership development organization had to cancel its annual Leadership Summit, PWH® leaders immediately secured dates for next year (May 17-19, 2021) and found new ways to continue the organization’s mission virtually.
“We formed a COVID-19 Task Force,” said PWH Chair Elect Vicky Lyle (who also serves as Op VP, Service Line Strategy). The PWH COVID-19 Task Force is dedicated to helping the industry during this time of quarantine, delivering relevant webinars and providing forums to share insights. From technology to personal wellness, this content is free for the industry, updated weekly and available at www.mypwh.org/Resource-Series.
“We have built a strong culture of leaders who are behind our mission to empower women to lead and succeed – especially during critical times,” said PWH Chair Rachelle Ferrara. “We’ve also reached out to our corporate partners to find out what these organizations are doing to inspire their teams and protect their employees.”
Midmark
Midmark provides essential equipment, technology and services that its customers need to diagnose and treat patients. To manage this safely, Midmark created a dedicated COVID-19 task force to monitor developments of facilities, supply chains and required guidelines. To help ensure the safety of Midmark employees, Vice President of Clinical Affairs and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Tom Schwieterman immediately produced informational videos to clarify and contextualize public health information into consumable and actionable content. He, along with a team of senior leaders also visited the majority of Midmark production facilities to talk with essential employees and plant leaders. “These conversations helped those employees feel confident that their company and its leaders know what they are doing,” said Dr. Schwieterman. “Policies put in place have stuck. Temperature taking is now routine.”
“One resonating attribute of Midmark’s culture is the running to the ball concept,” said Dr. Schwieterman. “From the head of human resources to the head of production workflow, in every circumstance there was leadership savvy. You simply had to say: ‘Here is the problem,’ and the leaders just did what needed to be done.”
Vice President of Sales Matt Bourne demonstrates that savvy. “Major conferences, very routine milestone meetings and appointments just got cancelled,” Bourne said. “Right away we looked introspectively to consider the effects on our workforce and workflow.” Bourne crafted a model of a salesperson’s working from home workweek to ensure his team knew how to access resources and remain productive. Bourne also helped devise a system of internal sales communication. A commitment to it ensures all contributions get recorded and shared, so all team members realize their importance. “This process gives our team members a new sense of purpose,” said Bourne. “They are our intelligence, and that intelligence gets communicated vertically and horizontally.”
Vizient
In February, Vizient leaders recognized a pandemic heading for the United States and immediately put together a “war room.” In addition to working closely with government agencies, hospitals, associations and other GPOs, the 70+ cross-functional team at Vizient relentlessly explores all possible opportunities to source and facilitate contracts to help support its member healthcare providers.
“Our member-driven mentality drives everything we do,” said Vice President, Strategic Communications & Public Relations Angie Boliver. “All employees see ourselves as extensions of the hospitals we serve, and everyone is giving their all to support caregivers and their patients.”
Vizient also continues to update the White House and FDA with findings about drug shortages and is one of several helping to build a new ventilator exchange program. “We are going to come out of this and need a materially different healthcare supply chain,” said Group Senior Vice President, Sourcing Analytics, Operations, and Center of Excellence Cathy Denning.
Owens & Minor
Owens & Minor also took early action to mitigate risk. According to Execute Vice President & Chief Human Resources Officer Shana Neal, “We were continually monitoring the situation and made sure to take swift and proactive measures to ensure the safety of our teammates in all environments, including our distribution and manufacturing facilities, our teammates working onsite at hospitals and those in our office environments.” The company implemented new remote work for those able to do so. For the teammates working every day to manufacture and distribute essential products, Owens & Minor is providing PPE, conducting temperature checks, instituting social distancing and elevating sanitation protocol for all facilities.
“We know that this is a trying time for all teammates,” said Neal. “We’ve enhanced benefits and are providing extra support, including training, for teammates across the organization.” In addition to adjusting sanitation measures and limiting visitors to all locations, Owens & Minor is offering telehealth consultations, flexible leave options, and access to an Employee Assistance Helpline for all teammates. Owens & Minor is also focused on maintaining business continuity to support the best possible patient outcomes.
NDC Inc.
As a unique healthcare supply chain company, NDC also remains devoted to the industry, its distributor and manufacturing partners, and its employees. “Throughout this pandemic, NDC remains committed to our core values,” said President and CEO Mark Seitz. “These values are providing a guiding light as our leadership team adjusts the business and leads our teams in response to these unprecedented times.”
NDC’s employees and customers remain the organization’s top priority during the COVID era. Corporate employees have transitioned to remote work environments wherever possible, and enhanced procedures have been implemented to protect those essential functions that require working from the office and distribution centers. NDC warehouses remain fully operational, with safety measures such as temperature checks and mandatory PPE during shifts.
“The dedication and loyalty exhibited by our ‘warehouse warriors’ is nothing short of heroic,” said Chief Commercial Officer Mark Kline. “We are committed to continuing to operate, serve the frontlines of healthcare, and navigate the challenges of allocations, supply shortages and ongoing distribution challenges. NDC’s unique independent position in the supply chain allows us to not only service large hospitals and institutions, but also support those distributors delivering to rural hospitals, family physicians and specialty practices – providers that are a staple in the communities they serve.”
PWH thanks its corporate partners and members for their heroic efforts. Please join PWH online and in person next summer at the PWH Leadership Summit May 17-19, 2021 in Denver, Colorado, to empower women to lead and succeed even during critical times.