“The leading Veterans Affairs lawmakers on Capitol Hill are calling for stricter oversight of the Department of Veterans Affairs emergency supply stockpile after shortages and rationing of protective equipment such as masks.”
“House and Senate Veterans Affairs Committee leaders Chairman Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif., ranking member Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tenn., Chairman Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kansas and ranking member Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., said in a joint release Thursday that the COVID-19 pandemic strained the U.S. healthcare system in ‘unprecedented ways’ and took a toll on the nation’s largest healthcare system, the VA.”
“The disruption of the global medical supply chain and historic demand ‘wreaked havoc on VA’s already strained procurement and logistics operations,’ the lawmakers said.”
“That led to ‘direct, measurable impact on the quality of care provided to veterans,’ they said, and the department must be monitored closely to prevent future issues…”
“The lawmakers’ letter comes just hours after senior administration officials told reporters about plans to boost the national stockpile of emergency medical supplies, such as masks, gowns, ventilators and medications. Those plans included dramatically increasing domestic manufacturing, since many of those supplies and materials are produced outside the United States, keeping up a 90-day supply and encouraging the market to surge production when needed, and restocking millions of masks officials say were depleted but not replaced during the H1N1 outbreak. White House officials on the call required reporters to keep them anonymous…”
“Since March, VA medical staff told Connecting Vets they lacked masks and other PPE, were given expired supplies, told to wash disposable masks, or were limited to one mask per week and told to wear them until they fell apart. Some veteran patients at VA said they bought nurses masks themselves. VA officials denied those accounts and called them ‘false allegations.’”
“VA staff and union leaders accused the department of endangering veteran patients and employees. Those allegations prompted a Department of Labor investigation…”
“The Congressmen this week asked the Government Accountability Office to have a ‘sustained focus on VA,’ including oversight of…” Read the full article here.
Source: Top Veterans Affairs lawmakers call for oversight of VA emergency supplies after shortages – By Abbie Bennett, May 14, 2020. Connecting Vets.
