HCA Healthcare (NYSE: HCA), one of the nation’s leading healthcare providers, announced it will provide as many as 1,000 ventilators as part of the American Hospital Association’s collaboration with the federal government and health systems to distribute this critical piece of equipment to hospitals experiencing a surge of patients with COVID-19.
 
HCA Healthcare chief executive officer Sam Hazen participated in a White House briefing with President Donald J. Trump on April 14 to announce the launch of the Dynamic Ventilator Reserve. This new public-private collaboration will distribute ventilators to critical areas of need in the fight against COVID-19.
 
The Dynamic Ventilator Reserve will include an online inventory of ventilators and associated supplies, such as tubing and filters, to support the overall needs of combatting the COVID-19 pandemic. Hospitals and health systems will input into the database available equipment that they are able to lend to others. Providers are then able to request access to this virtual inventory should their need for ventilators increase. The AHA will manage the inventory with full transparency to those participating in the effort and work with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to determine when ventilators might be needed to supplement the national emergency stockpile.
 
“I stand here before you in front of our 285,000 colleagues who provide care to patients every day across the country,” Hazen said when addressing President Trump, officials and members of the media at an announcement of the public-private effort in the White House Rose Garden. “One of the guiding principles we had when we went into this COVID-19 battle was to find partnerships—partnerships with other components of the healthcare industry, partnerships with other health systems and partnerships with governments, both local and federal. We’re proud to be part of this public-private sector partnership, and I think it’s going to do great good for the community.”
 
HCA Healthcare’s supply chain leadership team, including Ed Jones, the CEO of HealthTrust Purchasing Group, a subsidiary of the company, played an instrumental role in the creation of the Dynamic Ventilator Reserve and worked with the AHA, the Federation of American Hospitals, the White House Coronavirus Task Force and other major healthcare group purchasing organizations on its development. It is a concept that can be applied to other critical areas of need that may emerge as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve.
 
HCA Healthcare is working with organizations throughout the country—including local and state governments, the federal government, healthcare companies, technology companies, and other health systems—to pool resources, expertise and capabilities and create innovative alliances that help improve the national response to COVID-19. For example, last week HCA Healthcare, Google Cloud and SADA announced the creation of an open data platform to help hospitals and communities prepare for and respond to COVID-19.