Healthcare Industry Actions to Protect Patients During the COVID-19 Pandemic – June 5, 2020

The Healthcare Leadership Council is comprised of leading companies from every sector of American healthcare.  During the COVID-19 pandemic, we will be sharing examples of actions these companies are taking to protect and assist the public and combat the virus’s spread.  If you would like assistance in reaching a representative for any of these companies, please contact Kelly Fernandez at kfernandez@hlc.org. 

• The Baxter Foundation has provided $6 million in product donations to patients, healthcare providers and communities and another $2 million in financial grants to charitable organizations including Save the Children, Project Hope, and the Red Cross to support COVID-19 response. As well, Baxter facilities have been maintaining production 24 hours a day, seven days a week to meet health system needs.

• Electronic medical records company Epic Systems, at its own expense, extended digital records access to over 30 temporary medical stations in 28 states (encompassing over 80,000 new hospital beds) to assist healthcare providers in handling COVID-19 patient surges. Epic devoted over 300 employees to this project, which helped physicians track patient progress in makeshift hospital facilities in convention centers and armories.

• LabCorp has launched a new initiative called COVID-19 Clinical Trial Connect. As hundreds of clinical trials are getting underway throughout the United States for coronavirus treatments and vaccines, Clinical Trial Connect will provide a database mechanism to link these trials with individuals willing to participate.  Those who register with the site will be connected to suitable clinical trials in their area.

• In his public statement on the death of George Floyd, Johnson & Johnson CEO Alex Gorsky said the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted and exacerbated inequities in care in minority communities. He said the company is developing a major initiative to address underrepresentation in clinical trials, support for community health workers, and strengthening community health systems.

• Healthcare providers have expressed concern over the potential exposure of emergency room personnel to patients who may have COVID-19. Stryker has answered that problem by creating an Emergency Relief Patient Cover that will protect frontline health workers from airborne particulates.  These covers are being made available in the United States, Canada and Japan.

• An enhanced supply program created by Vizient helped hospitals avoid shortages of propofol, a critically-needed sedative used to intubate and maintain patients on ventilators. When demand for the drug spiked by over 250 percent as hospitals experienced surges of COVID-19 cases, Vizient was able to distribute an additional 676,000 units of the drugs to health systems.