Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals are facing severe shortages of personal protective equipment and are being forced to ration face masks, hospital workers told The Wall Street Journal.
Workers at a VA hospital in Kansas City, Mo., told the Journal physicians have to store their used N95 masks in paper bags between shifts.
But a spokesman for the Kansas City hospital disputed claims of rationing or equipment shortages, according to the Journal.
A pharmacist at a VA hospital in Hampton, Va., told the Journal workers get a new mask every few days and are told to "be careful with them."
Nurses at a VA hospital in Georgia told the Journal they are limiting the amount of face time they spend with patients so they can use fewer masks.
An internal memo that circulated in VA hospitals last week stated that some hospitals are 3D-printing supplies, but it isn't enough to make up for shortages, according to the Journal.
But the same day the memo circulated, a VA spokesperson told the Journal there were no concerns about supply shortages and that "all VA facilities are equipped with essential items and supplies, and we are continually monitoring the status of those items to ensure a robust supply chain."
Richard Stone, MD, head of the Veteran's Health Administration, said during a weekly call with congressional staff that the department was facing "austerity" with personal protective equipment, someone on the call told the Journal.
A spokesperson for the VA told Becker's Hospital Review that "VA employees have the appropriate [PPE], as per CDC guidelines," and said the department is "coordinating closely with FEMA and will work with the agency should the need to address the department’s supply levels arise."
The spokesperson said that employees treating COVID-19 positive patients for low-risk procedures and those who are screening patients for COVID-19 will receive one facemask a day. Employees working in community living centers, spinal cord injury facilities, and inpatient mental health wards will receive one face mask per week.
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