With the COVID-19 public health emergency set to expire May 11, the FDA is preparing to prevent any supply disruptions to medical devices after three years of shortages partly spurred by the pandemic. 

Here are six FDA recalls, approvals and warnings Becker's has covered since Feb. 24:

The FDA greenlit SafeSource Direct's new nitrile exam gloves that are designed to weigh less "to offer a cost-effective solution" for "low-risk, high-volume environments," the company said March 21.

More than 2,000 heart balloon pumps are part of a Class I recall issued by the FDA.

The FDA revised its list of medical device shortages spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic on March 16 to update more than a dozen products returning to normal supply levels in 2023. 

The FDA issued a third warning letter to Olympus Medical, which manufactures endoscopes, following an inspection and 160 complaints of faulty equipment.

The Global Healthcare Exchange revealed March 14 its list of the top 50 supply chains among hospitals and health systems. 

About half of the nation's hospitals are eyeing more control of the medical supply chain, according to a survey sample involving 250 hospital and health system leaders. 

The FDA narrowed its umbrella emergency use authorization for disposable, single-use surgical masks used in healthcare on March 6 after more than two years of the EUA prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

During the pandemic, product disruptions were the norm for healthcare supply chain teams. Many organizations didn't have the analytics or technologies necessary to analyze problems and develop solutions. Today, supply chain leaders at hospitals and health systems face additional challenges due to talent shortages and rampant inflation.

Boston-based Mass General Brigham tapped Medline on Feb. 27 as its strategic medical supply vendor. 

GE Healthcare said Feb. 23 it expects its contrast media products, which are used in CT scans and fell into shortage in May 2022, will return to normal supply levels in the next few weeks. 

Neonatal incubators may be exposing people to "volatile chemicals," the FDA warned healthcare workers Feb. 23. 

West Reading, Pa.-based Tower Health is looking to strengthen its laboratory supply chain with a new partnership with Quest Diagnostics, the two companies said Feb. 16. 

Philips Respironics recalled 13,811 ventilators the company reworked or replaced after it pulled millions of them off the market in summer 2021. 

GE HealthCare issued a recall of 688 of its Nuclear Medicine 600/800 Series Systems after identifying an issue that could lead to the machine's detector falling and trapping or crushing a patient. In a Feb. 15 statement, the FDA classified this as a Class I recall because the faulty machines could result in serious injury or death.

Here are 10 health systems and hospitals that posted job listings seeking supply chain expertise in the last week. 

After the U.S. shot down a "high-altitude object" hovering above Alaska's waters on Feb. 10 and a confirmed Chinese spy balloon the week prior, it's unclear what these actions mean for the U.S.-China medical supply chain. 

New Orleans-based Ochsner Health and its supply company, SafeSource Direct, teamed up with seven U.S.-based medical device manufacturers to form the American Medical Manufacturers Association. 

Abbott said Feb. 8 it will acquire St. Paul, Minn.-based Cardiovascular Systems, a medical device company with products for treating peripheral and coronary artery disease, in a deal worth $890 million.