Shortages of protective equipment have forced healthcare providers to come up with all sorts of creative solutions, from sourcing new manufacturers to 3-D printing their own face shields. A group of health systems came up with another approach: Buy a stake in a domestic mask manufacturer.
Premier Inc. and 15 of its member health systems bought a minority stake in Prestige Ameritech, a Fort Worth, Tex.-based company that makes surgical masks and N95 respirators. Some of the participating health systems include Advocate Aurora Health, Banner Health and CommonSpirit Health.
When Investment Rhymes with Canada
Canada has a proud history of achievement in the areas of science and technology, and the field of biomanufacturing and life sciences is no exception.
As part of the deal, the health systems agreed to purchase a portion of their face masks from Prestige Ameritech for up to six years, with the option to renew for three more years. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
The Covid-19 pandemic has strained medical supply chains, as healthcare workers need much more protective equipment to prevent exposure to the virus. Additionally, the lack of a coordinated effort has left many states and health systems bidding against each other for equipment, driving up prices.
Health systems have been able to find alternative supply chains for some of the needed equipment. For example, they’ve worked with distilleries to make hand sanitizer, and garment manufacturers to get more gowns. But some pieces of equipment are complex to manufacture, such as N95 respirators, which include a filter that can block airborne virus particles from entering the mask.
Finding a new manufacturer isn’t always simple, either, as the masks must fit snugly to be effective.
The investment is part of a bigger push by Premier to invest in domestic suppliers or those that source from multiple regions. The U.S. imports most of its PPE from overseas, and supplies became tighter as other countries faced Covid-19 cases. On top of that, domestic manufacturers came under fire for continuing to export masks even as hospitals were facing shortages.
“While we clearly understand that we need global diversity and domestic sources for supplies, the United States has historically been a high-cost region for manufacturing,” Premier President Michael J. Alkire said in a news release. “This program aims to alleviate some of this tension, supporting domestic or other manufacturers with capital and long-term contracts that will allow them to offer competitive price points.”
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