PPE shortage?

G

garyt1957

Member
Just saw a news report on a hospital that was treating Covid patients. They only had 19 patients so the hospital moved them to other facilities and closed down. An employee whistleblower sent in a video of the hospital warehouse that had tons of PPE, I mean pallets of it. Yet in my area we hear (and I know it's true, my SIL is a nurse)that health care workers are at risk due to lack of PPE. So why would this hospital have pallets of it unused at the height of the outbreak here when healthcare workers are going without?
Hospital officials say they weren't hoarding the stuff and were sending it out to the other hospitals in their chain. But if that's true and there's a massive shortage they should have very minimal inventory. Why would you not use the PPE at the height of the outbreak? We are now past peak infection rate and much of that PPE may go unused. Makes no sense. And this is just one hospital. Makes me wonder just how real that PPE shortage was/is.

https://www.wxyz.com/news/beaumont-employees-question-stash-of-ppe-hospital-denies-hoarding-claims
 

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I don't think these federal or local government was prepared for a prolonged mass casualty event like this. That being said it's their job. Being a disposable society shortages of single use disposable ppe it didn't surprise me at first. With all the accountants and bean counters involved in the medical industry I can't believe someone doesn't know about those hoards or isn't tracking what they do get.

I recent saw where a hospital executive personally took over ppe shipments mandating a shipment be sent in a food truck to lower the chances of theft/hijacking.

https://www.boston.com/news/coronavirus/2020/04/20/baystate-health-hospital-mask-order-coronavirus

I'm also dismayed to hear of outdated and gone bad stock piles going back a decade at least. Inventories need to be counted or audited yearly and that includes some inspections to make sure the stuff is good along with rotating stock like stores do with perishable items. Also supply chain clerks etc might have been deemed unnecessary or to few to begin with because a lot businesses in general order or deal direct with suppliers along with using automated systems. This leaves remaining staff already stressed to deal with logistics.

I also get one can only plan so much for the future with budget, time and resource constraints so the fact that there are hoards shows that attempts to replenish were made and completed which is a good sign.
 
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So many stories that should generate lessons to be learned from this. Ventilators manufactured in different degrees of ability to function is bad enough the worse part IMO is filtration & replacement parts can only be purchased from the manufacturer. PPE manufactured offshore but packaged in America another area that needs to be looked at for quality, reliability & cost.
 

Maybe the government had first dibs on all the TP in the states ahead of time so their facilities and homes are filled to the brim,
ya think? hmmmm.....just pondering..
 
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