Almost 1,000 boxes storing gloves, masks and other personal protective equipment were stored outside under a tarp for months at New York City-based New York State Veterans' Home at St. Albans, reports The City.
The state-run nursing home for veterans was storing the extra PPE outside, exposing the once desperately needed supply to rain, rats and snakes, according to the news publication. Many of the items have been rendered unusable from rot and mildew, some staff members told The City.
Hundreds of other boxes of PPE are stacked in several rooms at the home that are meant to be for resident use, such as a library and physical therapy unit, staffers told The City.
"When we needed the PPE we couldn't even get it," said one employee. "Now it's being wasted."
Officials at the State Department of Health, which manages the facility, said trucks were moving some of the boxes into storage, both on-site and off. They didn't respond to a question about the visible damage to hundreds of boxes stored outside, nor whether it was appropriate to store the PPE outdoors for months.
Jill Montag, a health department spokesperson, sent a statement that said St. Albans, like other nursing sites, "continues to receive, manage and use a supply of PPE items in an ongoing effort to combat the pandemic, stay prepared for any future developments and abide by state and federal regulations governing PPE supply requirements."
Neville Goldson, administrator of the veterans home, didn't respond to The City's request for comment.