Medicine and Transport; How Domestic and International Freight Transport Saves Lives

Submitted by Kayla Raney on 04/03/2020

Patients, doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists, and even hospital security depends on the transportation from everything to medical supplies to live saving medications. As a hospital employee I am all too familiar with the, fortunately rare circumstance, of running out of a certain supply item and having to improvise for my patient. We face many barriers in healthcare but having the right supplies delivered and distributed on time is essential to saving lives. The medical community absolutely depends on transportation services in order to provide medical care to those in need. Doctors, nurses, and other healthcare providers could not do our jobs without the reliable delivery of supplies and medications. Truck drivers, and transportation services are our modern day Togos’ and Baltos’. They are delivering live saving medications and supplies to our patients, just as those sled dogs preserved and delivered medication to the town of Nome, Alaska in 1925 to save dozens of children; every day the transportation industry is delivering life-saving supplies and medications to hospitals around the nation and the world.

Almost every night that I arrive to work I see a truck dropping off supplies, and our hospital’s internal transportation and supply staff eagerly waiting to begin the unloading process. I always feel happy and relieved when I see this because I know that in the coming hours while I am caring for patients, our internal transportation and supply staff will be bring the supplies from the truck to our Intensive Care Unit, where my patients lives depend upon some of those supplies. The Intensive Care Unit is where the sickest patients in the hospital stay, this is truly a population who’s lives depend upon even the most basic of supplies. Supplies such as intravenous fluid for a patient with low blood pressure and even the blood pressure cuffs to monitor if that fluid is helping my patient get better. I literally could not do my job as a nurse without the supplies I need. I am personally affected by the transportation industry and I am incredibly grateful for the drivers and trucks bringing those live saving supplies.

According to the American Trucking Association, trucks move approximately “71.4% of the nation’s freight by weight” (American Trucking Association, para #1). That is a huge portion of goods that are being transported around the country. So how much does the health system rely on the transportation industry? Well, according to CNBC “health-care logistics is a $70 billion global market, growing at an annualized rate of 4 percent” (Brennan, Golden, 2015, para #13). Clearly, healthcare is putting a lot of money into the transportation of supplies to hospitals around the country. The reason this is such a huge industry is because healthcare workers absolutely need these supplies for us to perform surgeries, do blood testing, and care for our sickest patients.

A-1 Auto Transport lists “expedited freight transport” as one of the services provided, and reassuringly adds “there are no size or weight restrictions at all. If it can be shipped, we can help you do it” (Webster, J. n.d., para #1). As a nurse, I cannot express how much that statement gives me comfort. As we see our patients becoming increasingly sicker and with the new COVID-19 virus upon us, I anticipate the need for reliable transportation services to deliver supplies to hospital systems across the country and around the globe. In particular, expedited freight transport will be essential to hospitals systems to meet the amount of supplies we will need to care for our patients. A-1 Auto Transport works internationally. If supplies are limited in

the United States, A-1 Auto Transport would be able to work internationally to deliver supplies to patients all over the world and here at home. A-1 Auto Transport has intermodal freight options, which may be essential to a variety of communities here at home and internationally who depend on different types of transportation in order to receive supplies. Shipments of supplies may need to be flown overseas or transported via railroad. With potentially more people needing medical supplies, we will require a company who can safely deliver those goods and can work internationally to meet supply demands.

A-1 Auto Transport offers “refrigerated freight”, guess how many medications require refrigeration! A lot! Certain cancer medications, pain medications, insulin, and so many other live saving medications require refrigeration, without this, these medications are completely ineffective. According to Sidoman pharmaceuticals require “a high level of expertise to transport safely” and go on to explain that “as little as a 2 percent drop in the temperature variation can result in ruined pharmaceuticals” (Sidoman, n.d., para #1 & #6). Medications are clearly very fragile and require many considerations, with temperature being one of the top concerns. Without proper knowledge and handling of these medication, medical staff are unable to provide life-saving interventions, such as giving insulin when someone’s blood sugar is too low, or giving blood products during an emergency, both of these require refrigeration in order to be safely administered to the patient, and for the patient to benefit from it.

As alluded to previously, the truck drivers and transport vehicles are the Togos’ and Baltos’ of our time, delivering live saving medications and supplies to patients. As a society we are facing new viruses and sicker patients, we will need to have reliable, safe, and knowledgeable people, vehicles, and companies delivering supplies in order to ensure that doctors and nurses can have the supplies they need to care for our community members. Otherwise, we simply cannot do our jobs and save lives. The transportation industry is just as vital to life as is the medications it delivers to sick patients. Companies like A-1 Auto Transport has a unique place in this evolving world, from the variety of transportation services and options provided to customers, as well as the knowledge and expertise of over 30 years in the transportation industry, this is a company that the national and international healthcare systems can rely on to save patient’s lives.

Submitted by Kayla Raney on 04/03/2020