Hillrom More Than Doubles Production Of Critical Care Products, Including Ventilators, Hospital Beds And Vitals Monitoring Devices To Support COVID-19 Response

CHICAGO, March 24, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Hillrom (NYSE: HRC) today announced actions it is taking to support customers and caregivers with critical care products necessary to meet COVID-19 patient needs. 

Hillrom's business operations continue with no material interruption as global demand for several critical products has grown substantially. The company is working to significantly ramp up production of these products, with the goal of more than doubling capacity in the following areas:

• Respiratory health, especially Life2000®, a non-invasive ventilator currently approved in the U.S. that is portable, lightweight and ideal for treating patients with mild to moderate respiratory distress across various acute care settings, including the emergency department, med-surg and post-ventilator weaning support. Expanded use of non-invasive ventilation can free up capacity for invasive ventilators for the most serious COVID-19 patients. Hillrom is working to increase its production capacity of Life2000 five-fold on an annualized basis.
• ICU and med-surg unit smart beds, including the company's Progressa® ICU bed, Centrella® Smart+ bed, and, for international markets, the Hillrom® 900 and Hillrom® 900 Accella™.
• Patient monitoring and diagnostics, including the company's Connex® and Spot Vital Signs® monitors as well as physical assessment tools and consumables, including thermometry, probe covers and blood pressure devices and cuffs.

"We are committed to scaling production as rapidly as we can to meet the challenges the world is facing with COVID-19," said Hillrom President and CEO John Groetelaars. "Hillrom's critical care, vitals monitoring and respiratory products can help caregivers and patients as coronavirus continues to cause severe illness around the world. We are focused on our employees' health and safety, and on ensuring that our products are available when and where our customers and patients need them."

Hillrom relies on a global supply chain and has a balanced global manufacturing footprint, with manufacturing facilities located in the U.S., Europe, Asia and Mexico. The company has seen no material disruption in its supply chain to date. Hillrom's suppliers are a critical component of successfully meeting customer demand, and the company is working with its supply chain partners to minimize any potential disruption.

Given the fluidity of the coronavirus pandemic, Hillrom will continue to monitor and assess business operations, and will provide additional information as appropriate.

About Hillrom

Hillrom is a global medical technology leader whose 10,000 employees have a single purpose: enhancing outcomes for patients and their caregivers by advancing connected care. Around the world, our innovations touch over 7 million patients each day. They help enable earlier diagnosis and treatment, optimize surgical efficiency and accelerate patient recovery while simplifying clinical communication and shifting care closer to home. We make these outcomes possible through connected smart beds, patient lifts, patient assessment and monitoring technologies, caregiver collaboration tools, respiratory health devices, advanced operating room equipment and more, delivering actionable, real-time insights at the point of care. Learn more at hillrom.com.

Disclosure Regarding Forward-Looking Statements 

Certain statements herein contain forward-looking statements, within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended, regarding the company's future plans, objectives, beliefs, expectations, representations and projections. It is important to note that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and the company's actual results could differ materially from those set forth in any forward-looking statements, including but not limited to, the potential risks and uncertainties relating to the ultimate geographic spread of COVID-19, the severity of the disease, the duration of the COVID-19 outbreak, actions that may be taken by governmental authorities to contain the COVID-19 outbreak or to treat its impact, the potential negative impacts of COVID-19 on the global economy and the company's sourcing, and the overall impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the company's business, results of operations and financial condition. For a more in-depth discussion of other factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in forward-looking statements, see the discussions under the heading "Risk Factors" in the company's previously filed most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. The company assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, unless required by law.

SOURCE Hillrom