#InThisTogether: 29 APR 2020

With everything going on during the COVID-19 crisis, we wanted to share some of the stories about what Cook people are doing during this difficult time. All around the Cook world, we are #InThisTogether, and we would love to hear stories about how you and your coworkers are stepping up to make a difference. If you have a story to share, please email us at BlogEditor@CookMedical.com.

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“Our business is helping patients”

COVID-19 researchers purchase materials from Cook MyoSite

By Justin Kelly, a communications specialist at Cook MyoSite

On Sunday, March 22, Cook MyoSite received an urgent request from one of its laboratory research products (LRP) customers. A researcher based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, who had purchased skeletal muscle cells from MyoSite in 2018, wanted five more vials of cells—and fast.

The LRP unit at MyoSite, which is located in Pittsburgh, sells specialized products (cells and media) that MyoSite has developed to research labs around the world.

A commitment to meeting the customer’s needs

Cindy Minor-Jones, MyoSite’s Customer Support specialist, received the order and began the process of fulfilling it. MyoSite works with the AMER SC in Bloomington to set up customer accounts. Their employees were working remotely in response to the evolving global pandemic and it was causing some connectivity issues during that process.

Cindy notified the customer.

“We were going to go ahead and move forward anyway because we knew the researcher said the cells were urgent,” Cindy said.

The LRP team pulled the cells and then coordinated with MyoSite’s Logistics and Warehouse Operations teams to get the package together.

In the course of setting up the shipment, Cindy learned from the researcher that the cells were going to be used in research related to COVID-19. This wasn’t mentioned until after Cindy had begun the rush-order process.

“We don’t really know how big or small our customers are, and we don’t always know what the products will be used for,” Cindy said. “We look at every customer need as just as important as any other, whether it’s a multi-million dollar company or a small academic lab.”

Because of this approach, the LRP team treated this order as they would any other rush-order: with commitment to meeting the customer’s needs.

“We should all be proud”

Around the same time, a different customer in Cambridge contacted MyoSite for cell culture media, again for COVID-19 work. There were a host of difficulties due to pandemic disruptions, including a series of cancellations and un-cancellations from the customers, but they made sure the products went out on the following Thursday, just a few days after the orders came in.

“The Warehouse Operations team worked closely with us to make sure it got out,” Cindy said. “The customer was on-again, off-again, but it didn’t matter. We worked so well together as a team. Everyone understood that this was really important and that difficult things are going to happen during this time.”

The fact that MyoSite’s products are being used in research today to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic illustrates how important it is to maintain our “business as usual” as well as we can amidst this crisis. After all, our business is helping patients.

“If a customer reaches out and they want a product, we will accommodate them, no matter what,” Cindy said.

“We should all be proud that we’re facilitating research for not only COVID-19, but also for neuromuscular diseases, diabetes, cancer, and all different types of diseases,” Cindy continued.

A special thank-you

A special thank-you to all involved in these orders: Adam Hostetler, Brandon Deshmukh, Cindy Minor-Jones, Dom DeCubellis, Doug Hill, Gerry Maybach, Jaclyn Mycka, Jamaal Thomas, Jim Cummins, Michele McGowan, Tim Bell, and Wayne Valentino

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