Trump administration to send PPE shipments to nursing homes

The Trump administration will send a two-week supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) to more than 15,000 nursing homes, which are ground zero for COVID-19 infections and have been pleading for more help.

Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Peter Gaynor on Thursday said the agency will send the first shipments with a seven-day supply starting next week, and a second wave in early June. 

Gaynor, speaking at a White House event on “protecting America’s seniors,” said all facilities will receive two separate shipments of surgical masks, gloves, eye protection and gowns by July 4. 

All told, the agency will send 608,000 pieces of eye protection, 6.9 million masks, 6.4 million gowns, and 31.4 million pairs of gloves.

“Together we have turned a critical demand for PPE for our seniors and front line health care workers into a reality,” Gaynor said.

The supplies are one of a handful of new initiatives announced by the administration intended to aid and protect nursing homes as the coronavirus pandemic takes a heavy toll on older Americans.

Shipments of PPE will be tailored to each nursing home facility based on their staffing size. The first shipments will target metropolitan areas hit hardest by the coronavirus, including New York City, northern New Jersey, Boston, Chicago and Washington, D.C. 

Gaynor said the supplies will be sent to nursing facilities that are certified by Medicare and Medicaid. However, the shipments will not be sent to assisted living facilities or any other type of long term care facility. 

The coronavirus has killed more than 10,000 residents in long term care facilities across the country, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Nursing homes have struggled to obtain specialized protective equipment, and have not been able to test and isolate staff and residents who may have the virus.