January 25, 2021 – Vizient, Inc. (Irving, TX) has entered into strategic partnership agreements with Encompass, Standard Textile, and Prestige Ameritech in order to expand the available supply of a variety of needed personal protective equipment (PPE) items.
Building on an earlier agreement with Encompass Group, LLC for 19 million disposable gowns, in August, Vizient announced a new agreement with the company to provide an additional 65 million AAMI level 3 disposable isolation gowns manufactured annually in North America to its member hospitals.
Since then, Vizient has partnered to help Encompass start a new, automated manufacturing line for disposable gowns in the U.S., bringing both supply and onshore resiliency for these products, the company says.
The new manufacturing line is expected to be up and running in the first quarter of 2022.
Vizient has also partnered with Standard Textile to expand its US-based manufacturing operations for Vizient members. In the initial months of the pandemic, the agreement provided 1.4 million reusable fabric cover gowns (approximately 75 uses each), 1 million reusable fabric face masks and 500,000 reusable plastic face shields for Vizient members.
In August, Standard Textile joined the Novaplus Enhanced Supply Program, which provides Vizient members with globally diversified manufacturing and US-based stockpiles.
As a result, an additional 5.2 million reusable gowns, 1.3 million shoe covers, 1.5 million bouffant caps, 1.5 million skull caps and 1.3 million fabric face masks per year will be available for Vizient members who participate in the program.
Vizient also has a commitment to Prestige Ameritech for nine million, U.S.-made N95 masks over a 12-month period. Since the agreement launched in April 2020, approximately 700,000 masks have been delivered monthly to program participants, Vizient said.