In March, VA Secretary Robert
Wilkie told NPR's All Things Considered that his department was well-prepared
for the outbreak of COVID-19, and had good supplies of masks and testing kits.
The reality is different today, he said.
"Since then, as the national
emergency kicked in since I did that interview, the normal supply chains have
dried up," said Wilkie.
Wilkie insists the VA did
sufficient planning, with "war games" of the outbreak earlier this
year. And he said the VA had replenished its national emergency cache of health
supplies before the virus hit. That planning has not measured up to the crisis.
No VA hospital has run out, but that's because the VA has been forced to
carefully ration equipment.
"For those who are on the
front lines in the emergency rooms, in the COVID wards, who are in the nursing
homes, they have the normal supply of equipment. It's those who do not have
that direct contact with patients that we've asked to follow CDC guidelines,"
he said.
Wilkie admits the Centers for
Disease Control guidelines are based more on adapting to the crisis than on
ideal medical practices.
"We are ensuring that those
on the front lines have what they need," he said. "Does everyone in a
hospital have all of the changes in gear that we would have in a normal
situation? No."
No comments:
Post a Comment