Strategies for creating a resilient healthcare supply chain

Supply chain issues have long plagued hospital systems even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Fear of the unknown and staff/patient safety were exacerbated by large gaps in the supply chain due to reduced manufacturing capacity. This included shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) for infection control. Protective clothing, helmets, gloves, face shields, goggles, facemasks, respirators, and other equipment designed to protect the wearer from injury, or the spread of infection or illness, were in high demand and often not available for the hospital staff when they needed it most. In response, many hospitals purchased extra materials to ensure future demands could be met, the amount of which the facilities were not equipped to handle or store.

To support healthcare facilities preparing for subsequent supply chain disruptions, Page reimagined hospital loading supply management areas and identified opportunities within existing buildings or new proposed designs to improve storage capacities and operational workflow.

This white paper includes:

• Identification of supply chain challenges such as product and labor shortages, inefficient operational workflows, and lack of square footage for proper supply chain management, and more
• A case study from the perspective of an imagined large mid-Atlantic health system, demonstrating how designers determine client goals, analyze processes, and verify user needs to inform architectural interventions that can address supply chain disruptions

Click here to download the Page white paper.