Under direction of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is coordinating two shipments totaling a 14-day supply of personal protective equipment to nearly 15,000 nursing homes across the nation. Providers scheduled to receive PPE packages include: Choctaw Nursing And Rehabilitation Center on West Cherry Street in Ackerman; Louisville Healthcare LLC in Louisville, Winston County Nursing Home in Louisville and Webster Health Services of Eupora. The mission supplements existing efforts to ensure nursing homes across the country have PPE during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. FEMA is coordinating shipping of PPE to Medicaid- and Medicare-certified nursing homes based on input from the American Health Care Association to serve as a bridge between other PPE shipments. Each nursing home will receive two shipments with a combined total of 14 days’ worth of PPE. Shipments of the first seven-day supply began the first week of May. Shipments of an additional seven-day supply will begin in early June. The first shipments focused on facilities within prioritized hotspots and is expanding to facilities across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam. The total estimated amount of PPE includes more than 11.7 million surgical masks, nearly 53.3 million gloves, more than 1.2 million goggles and other eye protection, and nearly 12.9 million gowns. Each facility will receive an allotment of all four items based on the medical staff size of the facility, which ranges from fewer than 10 employees to nearly 500. The level 1 medical gowns included in the shipments are intended for use in basic care settings for minimal risk situations. The gowns are durable and can be washed 30 to 50 times. Because of the large number of nursing homes, facilities are not likely to receive notification before their shipment arrives. However, when possible, FEMA will provide notification to a state before shipments arriving at their Medicaid/Medicare-certified facilities. Because of the critical need for PPE at nursing homes where some of the nation’s most vulnerable residents live, these supplies are meant to supplement existing PPE efforts by the federal government. FEMA and Health and Human Services continue working with states, territories and tribes on PPE needs through a variety of ways.
