Premier, Member Hospitals and DeRoyal Team Up to Boost Domestic Gown Production

Premier and 34 of its health system partners are teaming up with DeRoyal Industries to domestically source and produce isolation gowns, the organizations announced Monday.

The joint venture will produce isolations gowns in an existing facility outside of Knoxville, Tenn., and primarily source raw materials from U.S.-based manufacturers, with some backup from Mexican and South American suppliers. The health systems made multi-year commitments to purchase annual allotments from the joint venture, which expects to distribute its first batch in mid-2021.

"Domestic manufacturers face tremendous handicaps against foreign competitors, many of whom draw from among the cheapest labor and supply markets on the planet," DeRoyal CEO Brian DeBusk said in prepared remarks. "One way we can restore diverse, on-shore and near-shore manufacturing is by investing in automation combined with assurances of long-term purchasing volume at globally competitive prices."

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