COVID-19 hit our nation-wide healthcare supply chain with full force, leaving everyone scrambling to acquire the essential equipment for quick expansions of hospital capacity. Whether outfitting triage stations, emergency rooms, labs, or ICU beds, equipment has been hard to find in the timeframe needed. CME Corp is an equipment-focused distributor working with federal, state and municipal agencies and healthcare systems across the country to assist in medical equipment acquisition.
Here are four ways CME can help expedite the delivery of these much-needed products and assist in managing those assets when that equipment is no longer needed:
Source & Procure the Pandemic Preparedness Equipment
CME represents over 2,000 equipment manufacturers world-wide and has built sound, strategic relationships with many of them. We leveraged those relationships during this crisis to obtain reliable product availability information in real-time. A “quick-ship” list was generated daily to help find essential items.
In a recent case study, CME sourced and ordered 15,893 products from 55 manufacturers to outfit three alternate COVID-19 hospitals for the state of Rhode Island, a daunting task that was completed in less than a week. CME also added many new manufacturers to augment our portfolio. As an example, we worked with over 20 manufacturers of IV poles to obtain the equipment needed.
Assemble, Stage, & Deliver
CME is known for our white-glove, direct-to-site delivery services, which is a central aspect of our pandemic preparedness response. CME receives ordered items at our service centers, then stages, assembles, and delivers them directly to the new, temporary facilities. As cited in the same case study above, CME delivered those 15,893 items in 50 trucks over a three-day period…including a weekend. Our flexibility in getting the job done quickly was lauded and appreciated by our customer.
Pick-Up and Storage
After the peak of the epidemic passes, what will become of your newly obtained pandemic preparedness equipment? CME now offers a timely solution: we will pick-up the (now surplus) equipment, disassemble, and safely store the items for you until you need them again. With over 30 service centers across the country, you will have the confidence of knowing that your equipment is safe and close by, ready to be redelivered if/when needed.
Inventory & Maintain
CME has biomedical service technicians strategically located across the country who are trained to assist with inventory management and maintenance of your crucial equipment. When the next pandemic strikes, CME technicians will check the viability of your stored pandemic preparedness equipment and make sure everything is operational before redelivery.
Our nation’s healthcare equipment supply chain has learned a valuable lesson due to this COVID-19 pandemic. We now know what equipment is necessary to have available when a pandemic strikes. Let CME support your pandemic preparedness plan and help manage your crucial surplus equipment needs.
About CME: CME Corp is the nation’s premier source for healthcare equipment, turnkey logistics, and biomedical services, representing 2 million+ products from more than 2,000 manufacturers.
With two corporate offices and 35+ service centers, our mission is to help healthcare facilities nationwide reduce the cost of the equipment they purchase, make their equipment specification, delivery, installation, and maintenance processes more efficient, and help them seamlessly launch, renovate and expand on schedule.
