TLC to Supply Critical Healthcare Consumables to Aged Care Homes

Residential aged care providers have been decimated by the pandemic on a number of levels. Staff shortages, a lack of funding, sub-standard care as a result of the absence of GP’s and other practitioners in aged care homes, sub-standard infection control protocols and rising costs.

TLC Healthcare (TLC) has weathered most of the pandemic effects via concentric diversification and innovations that have resulted in a formidable COVID record. It continues to proactively look for opportunities to remedy business continuity challenges brought about by the pandemic.

It recognised a significant threat to aged care providers in the shortage of critical consumable supplies and unsustainable price rises. To that end, TLC has today launched its TLC Health Supplies business.

“We’re taking matters into our own hands with TLC Health Supplies”, explained TLC Healthcare’s CEO, Lou Pascuzzi. “If the last three years have taught us anything, it’s that we need to be selfreliant, which extends to self-supply and warehousing of healthcare consumables like Personal Protective Equipment, Rapid Antigen Tests, and other critical items that our aged care homes can order on demand. We have identified and secured 15 of the highest volume product skews required by the industry to operate effectively.

“Not only does this ensure our business continuity, but we’ve also strategically insulated ourselves from the pandemic issues of supply shortages and price rises”, he said.

Mr. Pascuzzi today confirmed that having secured competitive rates for healthcare consumables, both locally and abroad, TLC Healthcare will soon be in a position to supply other aged care businesses with critical healthcare consumables through TLC Health Supplies.

“As we’ve successfully done with the provision of COVID and Influenza vaccination services to other aged care homes through TLC Primary Care’s GP network, we continue to concentrically diversify our business to serve our needs and those of other aged care operators by providing them with assurance of supply of critical healthcare consumables at better than local market prices.

“We’ve built TLC Health Supplies from the ground up in only seven months, and invested over $6m in state-of-the-art warehousing, pick and pack (Kardex) automation robotic technology, a fleet of custom distribution vans, and employed some of the best people in warehousing and distribution.

“We’re not interested in relying on an unpredictable market for our critical healthcare consumables, and TLC Health Supplies provides a solution not only for our homes, but the homes of other aged care operators as well.

“We have already been approached by a number of hospitals and medical centres for supply of multiple product skews and we intend to extend our offering to the acute and primary care industry in 2023,” Pascuzzi explained.

TLC expects to extend their warehouse and supply network relative to demand, encompassing national distribution capabilities. It holds a minimum 12 months supply of each of the 15 critical product skews at any time.

TLC operates 11 residential aged care homes, 10 medical centres, a registered training organisation and a healthcare consumables warehouse and distribution centre, across Melbourne and Geelong.

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