TO SAY IT'S BEEN A CHALLENGE TO SECURE PERSONAL PROTECTIVE
EQUIPMENT FOR LOCAL HOSPITALS IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT, BUT THE STORY
OF ONE SUCH QUEST HAS MADE NATIONAL NEWS RECENTLY.
DR.
ANDREW ARTENSTEIN, BAYSTATE HEALTH'S INCIDENT COMMANDER FOR
COVID-19 AND CHIEF PHYSICIAN EXECUTIVE SPOKE WITH CAROLEE
MCGRATH AND SHARES THE STORY OF HOW HE AND BAYSTATE'S
SUPPLY CHAIN TEAM RECENTLY TRACKED DOWN NEEDED EQUIPMENT
AND THE MANY CHALLENGES THEY FACED ALONG THE WAY, INCLUDING A
RUN-IN WITH THE FBI.
>> AS YOU NO THE NORMAL SUPPLY CHAIN FOR EQUIPMENT FOR PPE AND
OTHER THINGS HAS REALLY BEEN OVERWHELMED BY THE DEMAND
NATIONALLY AND GLOBALLY, SO SOME OF OUR NORMAL CHANNELS THAT WE
RELY ON FOR YEARS IN ANY HEALTH SYSTEM HAVE REALLY BEEN SOMEWHAT
DISRUPTED AND ARE JUST NOT ABLE TO MEET OUR SURGE DEMAND, AND
WE'VE HAD TO LOOK ELSEWHERE IN SOME NONTRADITIONAL CHANNELS IN
ORDER TO GET THE EQUIPMENT, KEEP OUR TEAM MEMBERS SAFE AND
PROTECTED WHALE THEY'RE CARING FOR THESE PATIENTS.
>> WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT THE NORMAL CHAIN OF SUPPLY AND ALL
OF THAT, YOU NEVER IN OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES, WOULD BE INVOLVED
IN IT, WOULD YOU?
>> THAT'S CORRECT, WE NORMALLY HAVE AND WE STILL DO.
WE HAVE SUPPLY CHAIN PROFESSIONALS, PROCUREMENT
OFFICERS AND THAT POOL HAS EXPANDED GREATLY SO PEOPLE CAN
WORK ALL SORTS OF DIFFERENT LEADS AND TRACK DOWN WAYS TO GET
THE EQUIPMENT WE NEED.
IT IS NOT JUST PPE, IT IS ALL SORTS OF OTHER THINGS BUT THE
PPE HAS BEEN A MAJOR PRESSURE POINT, AS YOU KNOW.
>> TELL US HOW YOU BECAME INVOLVED IN THIS.
>> THE PROFESSIONALS WE HAD TRACK DOWN THE LEAD VETTED IT
WELL, DETERMINED IT WAS A COMPANY WITH A TRACK RECORD, NOT
ONE WE DEALT WITH BEFORE THAT HAD A TRACK RECORD IN THE AREA
AND HAD THE POTENTIAL TO ACTUALLY ACQUIRE THE NUMBER OF
N-95s AND 3-PLAY FACE MASKS THAT WERE NEEDED IN THIS
PARTICULAR CASE, THIS WAS A FEW WEEKS AGO, AND IT WAS FELT THAT
SO MANY OF THESE DEALS AND AGREEMENTS THAT WE TRIED TO MAKE
IN THE PAST, SEVERAL WEEKS BEFORE THAT, HAD FALLEN APART AT
ONE POINT OR ANOTHER, MANY TIMES AT THE VERY END WHEN EVERYTHING
SEEMED IT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN, IT WAS FELT WE NEEDED TO REALLY
TAKE CONTROL OF AS MANY VARIABLES AS WE COULD.
WE CAN'T CONTROL THE SHIPMENT COMING FROM OVERSEAS BUT WE CAN
CONTROL THE TESTING WHAT WE GET, MAKING SURE IT IS WHAT WE NEED
AND THAT IT WORKS PROPERLY, MAKING SURE THE NUMBERS ARE
CORRECT AND ACTUALLY PHYSICALLY GETTING THE MATERIALS FROM WHERE
THEY ARE SOURCED AND BRINGING THEM BACK TO OUR WAREHOUSE.
THOSE ARE THINGS YOU DON'T NORMALLY HAVE TO DO WITH SUPPLY
CHAIN FOR HOSPITALS BUT THESE ARE UNUSUAL TIMES AND THERE IS A
LOT OF COMPETITION FOR A LIMITED POOL OF SUPPLIES OUT THERE.
SO IT WAS FELT THAT, AT THIS POINT, WE ALL KIND WAS MADE THE
DECISION IT MIGHT HELP TO HAVE A PHYSICIAN LEADERSHIP INVOLVED
ONLY TO LEND ADDITIONAL MUSCLE, PERHAPS, EMOTIONAL MUSCLE, MORE
THAN ANYTHING, AND ALSO AN ADDITIONAL PAIR WAS EYES THAT
HAS CONTEND KNOWLEDGE BIN TEX AND FRANCE MISSION AND THIS
EQUIPMENT.
>> YOU MET THIS SHIPMENT OUT OF STATE, CORRECT?
>> THAT IS CORRECT.
>> SO YOU'RE OUT OF STATE NOW, YOU'RE NOW PART OF THE TEAM THAT
IS GOING TO TRY TO SECURE THIS AND BRING IT BACK UP TO
MASSACHUSETTS, BUT IT IS ALMOST UNFOLDED LIKE A MOVIE, REALLY.
YOU HAD TO BRING TRUCKS DOWN THAT DIDN'T LOOK LIKE THEY WERE
CARRYING PPE. IS THAT CORRECT?
>> THAT WAS THE IDEA.
AND, YOU KNOW IN RETROSPECT THAT MAY HAVE BEEN MORE THAN WE
NEEDED IN TERMS OF CAUTION, BUT I'LL BE HONEST WITH YOU, WE
SIDED THAT IT WAS WORTH TAKING EVERY POSSIBLE PRECAUTION.
WE KNEW, GIVEN THAT THIS WAS A NUMBER OF HOURS AWAY AND PRETTY
LONG TRIP THAT WE WOULD NEED TO BE CROSSING SEVERAL STATE LINES,
INCLUDING STATES THAT WERE SUGGESTLY AFFECTED BY THE
CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC, THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO BE DEALING WITH
LOTS OF DIFFERENT PEOPLE AND THE IDEA IS THAT ANYTHING WE COULD
DO TO TRY TO LEND MORE CONFIDENCE THAT IT WOULD REALLY
LAND ON OUR LOADING DOCK, THE METRIC FOR ME THROUGH THIS WHOLE
THING HAS BEEN, WHAT IS ACTUALLY AT OUR WAREHOUSE THAT WE CAN
CONTROL.
NOTHING IS CERTAIN UNTIL IT IS CERTAIN.
>> TELL US WHAT HAPPENED WHEN YOU GOT TO THE WAREHOUSE.
>> WELL, WE GOT THERE IN THE MORNING.
WE MET IN MID MORNING.
I WENT BY CAR.
THE SUPPLY CHAIN PROFESSIONALS, SEVERAL OF THEM AND FITS TESTER,
WE BROUGHT A GET TESTER, THAT IS SOMEONE WHO HAS EXPERTISE IN
ASSESSING THE SEAL THAT THE MASKS FORT MYERS ON, THE FACE,
AND THAT IMPORTANT BECAUSE ALL HEALTH CARE WORKERS CARING FOR
PATIENTS NEED TO HAVE A FIT TEST TO ENSURE THERE IS AN ADEQUATE
SEAL BECAUSE THERE IS A FEW SIZES OF THOSE MASKS.
WE WENT DOWN, I MET THEM BY SMALL PLANE, WE ASSESSED SOME
RANDOM SAMPLING.
FIRST OF ALL, THE SUPPLIES WE EXPECTED TO BE THERE LOOKED LIKE
THEY WERE BEING UNROADED WHILE WE WERE THERE, WHICH WAS A GOOD
SIGN.
THE BOXES SEEMED APPROPRIATE.
WE WERE ABLE TO OPEN THEM RANDOMLY AND SELECT A FEW MASKS
FOR TESTING, JUST A SMALL NUMBER, BUT THEY WERE CHECKING
THE BOXES AS WHAT WE EXPECTED AND WHAT WE NEEDED, SO THEN WE
TOOK THE LEAP OF FAITH WHICH I THINK IS REASONABLE THAT THE
REST WOULD LOOK SIMILAR.
THERE WERE A NUMBER OF THEM, A LARGE NUMBER.
AND THEN, AT THAT POINT, WE WERE MET BY A COUPLE OF F.B.I.
AGENTS WHO WE WERE TOLD WANTED TO
INTERVIEW ME AND JUST VERIFY CREDENTIALS.
SO I WENT AND TALKED TO THEM AND THE IDEA THEY WERE -- WHICH WAS
SURPRISING, BUT AS I'VE SAID, THESE WERE SOME OF THE GOOD GUYS
AND I WAS HAPPY TO KNOW THAT THEIR INTEREST IN THIS, IT WAS
AN INITIATIVE THAT WAS STARTED, WE WERE TOLD, JUST HAD STARTED
THAT F.B.I.
AGENTS WERE BEING DEPLOYED ACROSS SORT OF FANNING
OUT ACROSS VARIOUS PARTS OF THE COUNTRY TO ENSURE THAT SUCH
SHIPMENTS WERE GETTING INTO THE RIGHT HANDS AND THE RIGHT HANDS
THEY TOLD WITH US HOSPITALS, HEALTH SYSTEMS AND FIRST
RESPONDERS WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE AND THOSE
ARE THE HANDS THAT WE WERE REPRESENTING, ACTUALLY.
WE WERE A HEALTH SYSTEM AND A GROUP OF HOSPITALS, SO WE WERE
ALL ON THE SEAM PAGE, ALL TRYING TO GET THE SAME GOALS MEGAHERE.
THAT WAS GOOD, ACTUALLY.
I ASSURED THEM OF MY CREDENTIALS, I THINK THEY FELT
COMFORTABLE WE WERE WHO WE SAID WE WERE AND OUR INTENTIONS WERE
THE RIGHT ONES.
AT THAT POINT, WE WERE TOLD THE SUPPLIES WOULD BE RELEASED AND
ABLE TO BE LOADED ON THE TRUCKS.
SEVERAL HOURS ELAPSED THEN WE LEARNED THERE WERE PHONE CALLS
IN PROCESS AND THERE WAS PEOPLE THINKING THROUGH THIS THING ON
THE OTHER END BEING ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT THE SHIPMENT
WOULD ACTUALLY BE RELEASED OR WHETHER IT WOULD BE SOMEHOW
REALLOCATED OR REDIRECTED SO THAT TOOK SEVERAL MORE HOURS AND
THAT, YOU KNOW, BEGAN TO MAKE US NERVOUS WE MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO
COMPLETE THIS.
>> SO THAT WAS THOUGHT DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY.
>> THAT'S WHAT I'M TOLD.
>> ANY OTHER SITUATION, THIS WOULDN'T HAPPEN IT, SEEMS UNREAL
THAT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WOULD BE INVOLVED IN THIS WAY,
OF COURSE, TRYING TO MAKE SURE EVERY HOSPITAL HAS THE NECESSARY
EQUIPMENT.
TO GO THROUGH ALL, THIS YOU SECURED IT YOU FOUND IT YOU'RE
PAYING IT AND IT STILL MIGHT NOT POTENTIAL TERRIBLY GO TO SAW IN
CORRECT -- POTENTIALLY MIGHT NOT GO TO YOU.
>> CORRECT.
>> WE GOT IT RELEASED, LOADED AND ON THE WAY BACK.
BY MID NIGHT I WAS ALERTED THAT THE PPE HAD ACTUALLY LANDED ON
OUR LOADING DOCK AND WAS IN OUR WAREHOUSE BEHIND LOCK AND KEY
AND SECURITY GUARDS.
>> SO WHEN YOU WROTE THIS ARTICLE, OBVIOUSLY IT START AS
BROADER DISCUSSION ABOUT WHAT HOSPITALS ARE GOING THROUGH IN
THE MIDST OF THIS.
>> THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE, IT SOUNDS LIKE WITH SIMILAR, MAYBE
NOT EXACT LIGHT SAME, BUT THEMATICALLY SIMILAR STORIES.
OPPOSED TO ANY OTHER DISASTER, A VIRAL PANDEMIC IS SUCH THAT IT
OCCURS IN NUMEROUS PLACES AT THE SAME TIME IN THE SAME TIME
PERIOD SO WHAT WE'RE EXPERIENCING IN THE UNITED
STATES ACROSS ALL OF OUR STATES, SOME MORE THAN OTHERS, OVER THE
LAST SIX TO EIGHT-WEEKS IS JUST AN UNBELIEVABLY UNIQUE FOR US,
ACROSS THE GLOBE, AS WELL.
SO IT PUTS A STRAIN ON EVERY SINGLE GAP IN YOUR SYSTEM AND
THIS IS CLEARLY A GAP, AND IT SOUNDS LIKE OTHERS ARE
EXPERIENCING THIS AND KIND OF LOOKING FOR SOME COORDINATED
ORCHESTRATED APPROACH TO THIS.
IT IS DIFFICULT, BUT IT IS NECESSARY.