HHS Watchdog Finds Federal Gov’t Partially Responsible For Medical Supply Crisis

Christi Grimm, the principal deputy inspector general at the Health and Human Services Department, released a report on Monday that found the “significant challenges” hospitals are grappling with in treating COVID-19 were partially due to the federal government’s flailing response to the outbreak.

In a survey held from March 23 to 27, hospital workers informed Grimm’s office that they had not been sufficiently informed of the process of obtaining crucial medical supplies from the federal government’s national stockpile.

One medical staffer told the inspector general that the means to receiving those supplies posed “a major challenge” and that the equipment that the hospital did get were inadequate.

“Some hospitals noted that at the time of our interview they had not received supplies from the Strategic National Stockpile, or that the supplies that they had received were not sufficient in quantity or quality,” Grimm wrote.

According to the report, one hospital received Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) that had expired in 2010 from a federal agency.

Additionally, hospital personnel cited “inconsistent guidance” from the federal and state governments as a major hurdle in treating the coronavirus outbreak, and that it was “difficult to remain current” with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) guidelines.

An HHS spokesperson told TPM in an emailed statement that HHS Secretary Alex Azar “has already taken action” on the report’s recommendations.

“HHS, alongside other federal agencies, has been working day and night to support local communities and take actions to help our healthcare system respond quickly and effectively,” the spokesperson said.