Amid coronavirus, Lancaster County has plans to help avoid the next medical crisis.
Lancaster County may make a bold move not only to attract new business, but perhaps even save lives during the next pandemic or major health crisis.
Lancaster County Council and the Lancaster County Department of Economic Development announced last week that they will introduce a resolution to bring medical product and supply companies to the area. Council will vote on the resolution March 23.
The new rule would nix property taxes for a decade, donate land at county-owned business parks and fast track construction permitting for “life-saving medical product manufacturers” that commit to set up shop in Lancaster County.
Eligible companies will produce life-saving items currently manufactured outside the country. Companies can’t be owned or controlled by a foreign government.
Jamie Gilbert, executive director of the economic development department, proposed the idea in light of recent events like the COVID-19 (coronavirus) spread but also hurricanes and other threats to public health.
“Both the coronavirus and Hurricane Maria in 2017 caused severe shortages of some of most important life-saving medical products including surgical masks and IV bags,” Gilbert said in a release. “The fact that these products are manufactured in locations outside the United States that experienced catastrophic events was the primary reason for the supply chain disruption.”
Production of live-saving medical products have to be made in the United States and Lancaster County should be willing to do its part to help, Gilbert said.
“The limited number, and in some cases total absence, of domestic life-saving medical products manufacturers here in the U.S. makes it nearly impossible to meet increased demands in the event of a national emergency,” he said. “Many of our life-saving drugs are produced outside the U.S. and that presents a scenario where they can be withheld for political or trade reasons by the countries where they are based. That is unacceptable and inhumane.”
Steve Harper, Lancaster County Council chairman, supports the plan.
“Lancaster County believes we have a civic and patriotic duty to do what we can to address the life-saving medical products supply issue,” he said in the release. “It’s the right thing to do.”
Harper would like to see other communities follow suit.
“Like World War II, where America harnessed the resources of the private and pubic sectors and took an all hands-on deck approach to winning the war, we hope our action leads to others doing the same as it will take a national effort,” Harper said. “The production of life-saving medical products that Americans depend on needs to be done here and Lancaster County wants to get the ball rolling.”
Incentives are available to companies that commit to work in Lancaster County by Dec. 31, 2021.
This story was originally published March 23, 2020 at 12:00 AM.
