About a fifth of the nation’s nursing homes — 3,213 out of more than 15,000 —reported having less than a week’s worth of hand sanitizer, eye protectors, gloves, gowns and masks during the last two weeks of May, Kaiser Health News reported Thursday, citing federal records.
Out of the 3,213 nursing homes, 946 reported at least one confirmed COVID-19 infection since the pandemic started.
Supply shortages of much needed personal protective equipment has been a concern during the coronavirus pandemic, and nursing home residents can be particularly vulnerable to the contagious respiratory disease due to their age and underlying health conditions.
As of June 4, there have been more than 217,000 coronavirus infections in long-term care facilities and close to 44,000 deaths in these residences, data from the Kaiser Family Foundation shows.
Records from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services reveal that 711 nursing homes reported running out of N95 masks, according to KHN, while 1,963 reported having less than a week’s worth.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is reportedly not shipping any N95 medical masks and is instead sending surgical masks, but more than 1,000 homes reported a shortage of those.
Last month, FEMA announced that it was sending two shipments of two weeks worth of personal protective equipment supplies to 15,000 nursing homes nationwide.
FEMA officials told KHN that it had shipped packages to 11,287 nursing homes as of June 4.
But many nursing homes reported not receiving a shipment from FEMA including Good Samaritan’s Society facilities in areas with large outbreaks, including in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and Omaha, Nebraska.
If shipments of supplies have arrived, some are missing items or have less than a full week’s worth of protective equipment the government vowed to send. Meanwhile, some packages contain flimsy surgical masks that are not meant for medical use and large blue plastic ponchos instead of proper medical gowns, KHN reported.
• Shen Wu Tan can be reached at stan@washingtontimes.com.
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