Press Briefing: Where Did All the PPE Go? The COVID-19 Disconnect Between Hospitals and the Healthcare Supply Chain
MEDIA ADVISORY
Contact:
MacKenzie Babb
Kenan Institute External Affairs Director
919.632.6641
MacKenzie_Babb@kenan-flagler.unc.edu
Chapel Hill, N.C. (April 13, 2020) — A panel of experts convened by UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School and its affiliated Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise will be offering a press briefing via webinar on the effects of COVID-19 on the healthcare system, its providers and supply chains. Some level-setting facts and figures are included in the fact sheet to the left. Join tomorrow, Tuesday, April 14, at 11 a.m. EDT to hear from the following experts:
UNC Center for the Business of Health Faculty Director Professor Brad Staats will provide an overview of the impact COVID-19 has had on the U.S. healthcare system, with a particular focus on bottlenecks in testing for the virus and the resulting implications of such delays.
Tackling the question of why the healthcare system is facing such significant PPE shortages, UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School Professor Jay Swaminathan will offer guidance on what can be done to improve the situation now—and how we can guard against a similar dearth in supply in future.
UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School Professor Vinayak Deshpande will share new research on how the existing limited PPE supplies may be utilized more effectively, as well as how to source additional supplies amid the crisis.
Covering the effects of COVID-19 on frontline providers and impact on care delivery, UNC Hillman Scholars Program in Nursing Innovation Director Professor Cheryl Jones will discuss policies currently under evaluation to address surge staffing capacity issues—including the prospect of relaxing nursing licensure requirements.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Chief Strategy Officer Bryony Winn will share how insurers are supporting both consumers and health care providers alike through policy changes, promoting new modalities of care (such as telehealth), easing providers’ administrative load and helping to work through fiscal challenges caused by COVID-19.
Each expert will provide a brief overview of his or her respective topic, citing applicable emerging research and data, before the floor is opened for questions from the press. For a link to participate, email MacKenzie Babb.
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About the Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise at UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School
The Frank Hawkins Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise develops and promotes innovative, market-based solutions to vital economic issues. With the belief that private enterprise is the cornerstone of a prosperous and free society, the institute fosters the entrepreneurial spirit to stimulate economic prosperity and improve the lives of people in North Carolina, across the country and around the world. Learn more at kenaninstitute.unc.edu.
For more information, contact:
MacKenzie Babb, External Affairs Director MacKenzie_Babb@kenan-flagler.unc.edu
