The Pycube Roundup: Industry Needs are Always Evolving. Can You Keep Up?

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$123M Spent on Unused Nitrile Glove Plant

In 2020, at the height of the pandemic, there were shortages of personal protective equipment across the country, causing a need for a mass production of items. To counteract this shortage, the government spent $123 million1 to build a chemical plant in Virginia.

The goal was to have one space to create nitrile rubber, a synthetic rubber most commonly used in medical gloves, and another plant to take that rubber to create the actual glove. The first plant finished being built and was ready for operation in the spring of 2023, but because of the amount of time that passed, the need was no longer present.

The plant sat idle for months until November when hundreds of motors were removed from the facility and stored away, waiting for a day when production might begin. "We just wanted to finish what we started," says Blue Star NBR chief executive Scott Maier. "Just wasted money."2

Patient Expectations are Shifting. What Can You Expect?

With the intense rise of convenience from things like Amazon Prime and DoorDash, and the reduction in attention spans from social media, patients have unintentionally become accustomed to instant gratification. "It is an expectation of customer service number one, immediacy. People want what they want, and they want it where they want it and how they want it," says David Lubarsky, MD, vice chancellor of human health sciences and CEO of UC Davis Health.

Another consideration is patients' accessibility to the internet and staffing shortages. Once people start feeling symptoms, they go to the internet to look them up, hoping to find answers and solutions to what might be happening. Doctors and nurses can use this to their advantage as many patients want to be more knowledgeable about their healthcare. 

"What we really must do is create an information technology transfer capability so that patients can self-investigate, self-diagnose and self-triage, and even occasionally, self-treat themselves before they even progress to a virtual visit, let alone a brick-and-mortar visit," says Dr. Lubarsky. Creating a reliable information system reduces the demand for onsite staff, allowing doctors and nurses to use that extra time on patients with more severe problems.

New Year New Goals - What Will You Accomplish?

How was your holiday season? Our team was very excited to celebrate this year and we are looking forward to achieving even more this year! Do you have any New Years resolutions? Some of our team members shared their goals with us on our LinkedIn, so if you have any goals you'd like to share, let us know in the comments. 

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