Current PPE Needs
Hospital PPE Support Packages
For the past several weeks, all New York City facilities have received Hospital Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Support Packages from New York City’s stockpile on either Monday or Tuesday. The packages have consisted of PPE supplies including N95 respirators, surgical masks, eye protection, gowns, and gloves. Quantities and brands have been based on overall City stockpile availability.
In advance of each weekly delivery, GNYHA staff have made verification calls to hospitals to ask what facilities need based on their available inventory and have adjusted deliveries accordingly. Based on these calls, many hospitals appear to have more stable internal inventories.
While weekly PPE deliveries are expected to continue for several more weeks, based on hospital and health system internal inventories, these deliveries are expected to wind down. GNYHA will work with City partners to provide ample notice of this change.
Urgent Supply Requests
Hospitals may continue to request PPE through the established resource request process if experiencing a challenge of less than two days of an item or items on hand. The hospital should complete the Supply Request Form and e-mail it to covidsupplies@gnyha.org. GNYHA staff will review the form. If a hospital has no stock on hand, GNYHA staff will assign it “life safety” priority, and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) will fulfill the request based on availability either the same day or early the next morning. If a hospital has two days or less of stock on hand, GNYHA staff will assign it “high” priority, and DOHMH will fulfill the request within 1-2 days.
Looking Ahead
Given the ongoing demand for PPE, hospitals, health systems, and government response agencies are all working to build up inventories. Below is information about initiatives related to these efforts.
New York State 90-Day Supply Goal
Governor Andrew Cuomo has set forth a 90-day supply goal for the health care system overall. Hospitals and health care systems are urged to work toward development of a 90-day supply over the next several months, through a combination of purchases, contracts, and access to government stockpiles.
Build Up of City and State Stockpiles
Toward this goal, both New York State and New York City are building up their PPE and equipment stockpiles through a combination of traditional and non-traditional suppliers. New York State is collaborating with neighboring states via the Regional State Purchasing Consortium. GNYHA is directly supporting these efforts by working closely with City and State representatives to ensure that items purchased meet the needs of GNYHA members.
Local Manufacturing
New York City and New York State are also engaged with local manufacturing –-businesses that have pivoted to produce needed PPE items, including face shields and gowns. By supporting local manufacturing, City and State government can increase stockpiles and diversify sourcing.
For assistance or questions on PPE or others supplies, please contact covidsupplies@gnyha.org.