Medline Teams Working to Provide PPE to Nation’s Healthcare Providers

Medline Chief Executive Officer Charlie Mills participated in a White House supply chain roundtable yesterday, during which President Donald Trump unveiled a new initiative to provide medical supplies to hospitals that have been struggling against the coronavirus.

As the nation’s largest privately-held healthcare manufacturer and distributor, Medline has remained fully operational to support the work of the doctors and nurses working on the frontlines of the pandemic. The company’s 45 U.S. distribution centers and 15 manufacturing facilities all continue to work all shifts to produce and distribute critical medical supplies.

In the White House meeting, Medline committed to reprocessing 100,000 N95 respirators and other face masks per day in its facilities beginning as early as this week. The innovative process is close to receiving FDA emergency use approval and will supplement the more than 38 million masks Medline has distributed on average each month in 2020.

“The healthcare systems of America are doing heroes’ work right now, and Medline will do all that we can to help them take care of patients and themselves through the pandemic,” says Mills. “Whether it’s converting manufacturing capabilities to produce hand sanitizer or developing a creative way to renew face masks, we are pursuing every opportunity to make a difference.”

Medline activated its emergency operations response in February and has been coordinating with government agencies at every step. The company already has distributed 15 million more masks to healthcare providers so far this year than in the first quarter of 2019, and its trucks are making thousands of deliveries per day to healthcare providers across the country.

Just this month, Medline began air freighting personal protective equipment (PPE) to the U.S. to cut three to four weeks out of the typical supply chain cycle. Medline also doubled its production of reusable facemasks and surgical gowns to supplement PPE supplies.

“We realize our critical role in healthcare, and I can speak for every employee of Medline when I say our top priority is to get more PPE and other medical supplies into the hospitals, nursing homes and physician offices caring for patients.” Mills said. “This is an unprecedented time, and we won’t stop until we’ve done everything we can to help defeat COVID-19.”