Medical Products Distributors Partner With Government To Airlift Critical Supplies
Distributor leaders meet with President Trump to discuss new initiative
PRESS RELEASE
April 1, 2020
Alexandria, VA – Project Airbridge, a new partnership between the federal government and medical products distributors, this week began flying in medical supplies to strategic locations around the nation to help fight the coronavirus.
The White House invited a group of healthcare distributors to the Rose Garden Sunday to underscore the initiative. Its goal is to expedite the arrival of critical medical supplies, using planes to quickly bring in products from China to the United States.
“We’re waging a war against the invisible enemy,” President Trump told attendees of the Sunday meeting. “Thank you for the amazing job you’re doing and your amazing workers and truckers for delivering record amounts of lifesaving equipment.”
The first plane flew in masks, gowns, gloves, and thermometers from Shanghai. FEMA will distribute most of the supplies to New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. The remainder will be distributed by commercial distributors and manufacturers to their provider customers including hospitals and nursing homes.
Traditionally, PPE supplies are sent to the U.S. in containers that arrive by ship. This can take 30 days or more. Supplies then need to be trucked across country from the port to distribution centers and other providers. Air freight is far more costly than shipping but reduces transit time substantially and can land much closer to the areas of greatest need.
“Our highest priority is ensuring healthcare providers across the spectrum of care have the products they need,” said HIDA President & CEO Matthew J. Rowan. “Project Airbridge flying PPE into the U.S. is the type of innovative logistics solution demanded by the situation.”
This first Project Airbridge flight was the result of a collaboration between FEMA, the White House, and other government agencies with commercial distributors including Cardinal Health, Henry Schein Inc., McKesson, Medline, and Owens & Minor.
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