Before COVID-19, those working in the supply chain were invisible to most. It was a mark of success. Matt R., who works in Demand Planning at UPMC, remembers those days – and how the pandemic changed all of it.
Working in supply chain management requires the ability to predict and analyze what supplies are necessary, but COVID-19 was unpredictable.
Matt and his staff responded by going above and beyond to do their jobs. They monitored inventory levels and the daily use of personal protective equipment (PPE). His analytical work helped determine how and where UPMC used items like N95 respirators, isolation gowns, procedural masks, and more. He and his team also helped senior care centers across Pennsylvania access otherwise unattainable PPE.
“There were challenges, but we got it done,” Matt says.
The knowledge that they were helping others kept Matt and his team going to meet the challenges.
“No matter how hard this gets, there’s somebody on the end of this that needs it to get well and receive the care that they need,” Matt says.
At UPMC, Life Changing Medicine means working hard and solving problems – in and out of the spotlight.