January 21, 2021 – HCA Healthcare (Nashville, TN) announced it has entered into a new joint venture business with A Plus International Inc. (A Plus), a global manufacturer of healthcare products, to expand access to personal protective equipment (PPE) by manufacturing surgical and procedure masks in the United States.
HCA Healthcare’s investment in the business is being funded through the HCA Healthcare Mission Fund.
HealthTrust (Nashville, TN), a global leader in purchasing aggregation and performance improvement for healthcare, will co-manage the joint venture with A Plus.
HealthTrust’s wholly owned subsidiary, Resource Optimization & Innovation (ROi), will serve as the distribution partner for the business, providing access to PPE inventories to HealthTrust member organizations throughout the U.S.
Investment in the new business entity will initially be funded equally by HCA Healthcare Mission Fund, LLC, an affiliate of HCA Healthcare, and A Plus. The new business entity is part of HCA Healthcare’s continued effort to support healthcare workers and address the global demand for PPE.
Under the partnership, production of Level 1 and Level 3 masks meeting American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards for quality and safety is expected to begin in early 2021 from a manufacturing center in Asheville, North Carolina.