The Pennsylvania Manufacturers’ Association (PMA) on April 9 denounced a newly signed order by Gov. Tom Wolf to commandeer personal protective equipment (PPE), pharmaceuticals, and other medical resources from manufacturers and suppliers and provide targeted distribution of them to hospitals across the Commonwealth.
Gov. Wolf on Wednesday signed an order authorizing the state to confiscate medical resources located within Pennsylvania — such as N95 face masks, ventilators, respirators, face shields, safety goggles, disinfectants and other sanitizing solutions — to then be allocated to all hospitals around the state.
“Governor Wolf’s overreaching and extra-constitutional executive order threatens the foundation of the market response needed to battle the COVID-19 pandemic in our Commonwealth and across the nation,” said David Taylor, president and chief executive officer of PMA, the Harrisburg-based statewide trade organization representing the manufacturing sector.
“We call on Governor Wolf to rescind this executive order immediately,” Taylor said on Thursday.
The governor’s order is in response to an ongoing statewide shortage of PPE, pharmaceuticals and other medical resources, according to Wolf’s office.
The order specifically allows the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, in coordination with Commonwealth agencies engaged in the procurement of PPE and other medical resources, “to commandeer and utilize all PPE, pharmaceuticals and other medical resources required to respond to, provide care for those afflicted by, or otherwise prevent the spread of COVID-19 from all private, public and quasi-public health care providers and facilities, as well as manufacturers and suppliers of PPE, pharmaceuticals and other medical resources” from all over the state, according to the April 8 order.
Gov. Wolf’s order also requires manufacturers, distributors and suppliers of PPE and other medical resources, among others, to submit current inventory quantities within five days of the April 8 order and to provide updates to the Pennsylvania Management Agency.
“Having our Commonwealth’s manufacturers inventory all personal protective equipment, pharmaceuticals and other medical supplies for state-directed ‘commandeering’ adds uncertainty, complexity and anxiety to an already strained relationship between the private sector and state government,” said Taylor, calling the order “excessive,” particularly because “the National Association of Manufacturers has been surveying inventories for weeks.”
The governor’s order is also unwarranted, Taylor said, as PMA and other business groups have been working with the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) to establish a portal for manufacturers to rework operations to better fight the pandemic.
The DECE on April 4 announced the creation of the Pennsylvania Manufacturing Call to Action Portal, which allows DCED to match manufacturers and distributors filling specific supply chain needs, assist manufacturers that have workforce needs or gaps, and identify manufacturers that can pivot or innovate operations to fulfill supply demands.
“Many manufacturers in Pennsylvania are retooling and assisting in the efforts to battle the COVID-19 pandemic despite Governor Wolf’s best efforts to shut down supply chains and distribution networks,” Taylor said.
For example, E.T. Browne Drug Co. announced that its manufacturing facility in East Stroudsburg, Pa., has started producing medical-grade hand sanitizer for immediate distribution to address widespread supply shortages in the wake of COVID-19. Nearly 300 employees have committed to leading the effort, which required the manufacturer to mobilize its supply chain within weeks.
IDL, a Butler, Pa.-based marketing and retail design agency and part of Pittsburgh’s Matthews International Corp., has temporarily shifted its manufacturing of retail displays to produce a two-piece face shield designed to protect workers who are interacting with the public at essential businesses such as grocery, pharmacy and convenience stores.
“Creators have responded, putting in exhaustive hours, changing entire production lines, and donating countless goods to supply the gear and materials needed on the frontlines to fight the pandemic,” said Taylor, adding that they’re doing all of this “despite Governor Wolf’s failure to support any Good Samaritan liability protections for their heroic efforts.”
Also calling the order “contradictory” because it conflicts with established protocols between Pennsylvania healthcare institutions, Taylor said that “all of these failings could have been corrected if the governor or his front office staff had sought input from the stakeholders who actually understand these issues.”
“Pennsylvania’s industries need a streamlined, cooperative process that respects the private sector, rather than one that micromanages and treats manufacturers like an enemy,” he said.