COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Update

"Baxter’s Mission is to Save and Sustain Lives, and that commitment guides everything we do – even when the obstacles seem greatest. Our hearts go out to all the individuals and families whose lives have been shaken by the impact of COVID-19. Our medically essential products put us on the front lines of this pandemic, and our employees power our ability to make a difference. We are fully focused on the health and safety of our Baxter colleagues, who are fully committed to addressing the needs of patients, clinicians and communities worldwide."

Joe Almeida, Chairman and CEO
 

• Maintaining Product Supply: Our global manufacturing operations are running at planned levels. We are proactively managing our inventory levels, stock levels in warehouses and transportation options, so we can act quickly as the situation changes. We expect increased demand for some products to continue and are monitoring customer ordering patterns to help ensure product availability for all of our customers. In addition our work over the last few years to strengthen and expand our manufacturing network further helps us manage unprecedented situations like these. 
• Donations for Humanitarian Relief: Through the Baxter International Foundation, we’re providing financial support to multiple groups addressing the needs of patients, health workers and communities at local, national and global levels. This includes grants to Americares, Direct Relief, IsraAID, Partners in Health, Project Hope and the United Nations Foundation/WHO COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund. Our contributions will help advance efforts to manage and mitigate disease spread, activate telemedicine opportunities, mobilize critical supplies for healthcare workers—and more. The Foundation is also supporting our employees around the world who are making personal donations to select nonprofit partners by matching their donations 2:1.
• Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): PPE, such as gloves, masks and gowns, is in high demand by healthcare professionals and companies like Baxter, as our infection control procedures require that all manufacturing employees wear PPE while on the job. We have worked collaboratively with our global network of suppliers to significantly ramp up the amount of PPE available for our employees and partners.
• Critical Support for Healthcare Providers: Our team is providing frontline assistance to healthcare providers as they manage the influx of critically ill patients requiring care. We are using virtual tools for training and individualized clinical support for nurses and physicians.
• Supporting Dialysis Patients: We continue to meet the needs of our home dialysis patients globally. In Australia and New Zealand, we are delivering supplies to our home dialysis patients as normal. There is no reason to order extra dialysis supplies. Baxter delivery drivers are taking extra infection control precautions to protect our patients and themselves. If you are displaced from your normal delivery location or need any help with a home dialysis order, please call our HomeCare Team on 1800 BAXTER (229837).
• Protecting Our Employees: We immediately activated our response plan to protect our employees’ health and safety across all Baxter facilities. Our plan follows the guidelines provided by the Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization and includes steps such as symptom screening at building entrances, use of respiratory protection for key personnel, and restricting visitors at facilities. Our manufacturing employees continue to go above and beyond to help us continue to supply our life-sustaining products around the globe. Our existing flexible workplace policies have enabled our office- and field-based employees to work remotely while maintaining business continuity. Business travel has been restricted. All Baxter sites are currently prepared to implement additional measures should the need arise.