DHMC, other hospitals turn to online matchmakers to swap supplies
By LINDA A. JOHNSON
AP Medical Writer
In this image provided Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health, Respiratory Care Practitioner Craig Skirvin, wears a face shield, Friday, May 1, 2020, at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center;s Medical Intensive Care Unit, where it cares for COVID-19 patients in Lebanon, N.H. The hospital had extra face shields but needed hand sanitizer, so it swapped with another hospital on one of several new online matchmaking platforms that enable hospitals to swap supplies or get donations of them to quickly fill supply gaps. (Mark L. Washburn/Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health via AP)
Facing shortages of protective equipment as the coronavirus pandemic stretches on, hospital systems in each of the Twin States tried the latest twist in internet matchmaking: online swap meets.
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center and UVM Medical Center in Burlington have taken advantage of online platforms that have popped up to match hospitals that need masks, gowns, ventilators and even doctors with those that have extras. And other projects have been started to link hospitals with nontraditional sources of equipment.
“There’s a lot of enthusiasm for this,” said Michelle Hood, chief operating officer of the American Hospital Association. “It’s sure made a difference to those who got supplies when they really needed them.”
Last month, the UVM Medical Center was short on face shields. But it had surplus hand sanitizer, which it got from local distilleries that partnered to make 16-ounce “Vermont Strong” bottles, said supply chain director Charlie Miceli.
Meanwhile, his counterpart at DHMC was hunting for hand sanitizer.
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