April 17, 2020
More than 500 independent practices in 27 states will receive KN95 masks, face shields, gloves, and other essential supplies
Bethesda, Md. – April 17, 2020 – Today, responding to unprecedented need by primary care practices across the country, Aledade announced shipments of COVID-19 support packages of personal protective equipment (PPE) to its national network of independent primary care practices and community health centers. Aledade procured critically-needed PPE for more than 500 practices enrolled in its physician-led Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) who are facing dire shortages, including: 282,000 surgical masks; 119,000 KN95 respirators; 348,000 medical gloves; 101,000 disposable gowns; 29,000 face shields; and 4,000 bottles of hand sanitizer. Packages have already begun arriving at practices, and the remainder will arrive in the next two weeks.
“Primary care practices are the front line of medical care and responding to COVID-19 in their communities. These doctors and their staff are willingly putting themselves at risk every day to face the unprecedented challenge of the COVID-19 virus while working to keep their elderly, chronically ill, or high-risk patients out of the hospital or ER,” said Farzad Mostashari, MD, CEO and co-founder of Aledade. “These practices are in desperate need of supplies like KN95 respirators and surgical masks to protect their staff and patients, and our mission at Aledade is to be their advocate. We’re proud to help empower our partner practices as they face down this crisis while continuing to deliver the trusted, high-quality care their patients depend on.”
In response to practice surveys and feedback from on-the-ground Aledade staff, the company began shipping PPE directly to practices this week, including to many practices that were completely out of or nearing depletion of their supplies. Primary care practices across the country are facing shortages of PPE, leaving them unable to protect patients or staff, and thereby forcing them to curtail treatment of their patients with challenging chronic conditions.
“Primary care practices may be the country’s most valuable asset during this pandemic,” said Emily Maxson, MD, Aledade’s Chief Medical Officer. “Without access to these critical supplies, practices cannot safely operate and will have to shut their doors. Policymakers should act quickly to adequately support primary care practices, as we continue to see independent practices unable to procure PPE supplies during this crisis due to supply shortages, high order minimums, and hospital prioritization by both distributors and public health officials.”
“We want to thank our friends at Aledade for the much needed personal protective equipment received for our staff,” said Dr. Mark Dawson, primary care physician at Acadiana Family Medical in Rayne, Louisiana. “Seeing patients everyday in our clinic, this assures we will be able to continue to provide services during COVID 19 while keeping our staff safe.”
This delivery follows Aledade’s rapidly scaled efforts with UpDox to help practices implement new telemedicine capabilities, which has already successfully launched at more than 275 practices across the country and continues to roll-out to new sites. Aledade is offering this telemedicine platform to Aledade ACO practices at a below-cost fee structure during this crisis.
Aledade will continue to support its partner practices as the COVID-19 crisis puts new pressures on patients and providers across the country. This includes working alongside practices to address the financial challenges presented by the pandemic by opening new revenue streams, managing expenses, and tapping into sources of new capital. Finally, Aledade is supporting its ACO practices by creating and distributing materials for practices to navigate the crisis and communicate clearly with their patients, and offering detailed policy guidance in a rapidly changing public health landscape.
Independent primary care practices who need support or guidance can contact Aledade at outreach@aledade.com.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Brian Chiglinsky, Senior Director of Communications, Aledade
press@aledade.com (540) 761-9786