Are medical supplies disappearing? Is it a problem? 1/X
Nurse in NEW YORK tells me PPE was disappearing in their tuberculosis ward before the pandemic: "What the hell is wrong with this picture?" 
ER Doc in INDIANA says thefts happen but thinks "masks are a red herring." He wants to know about meeting the demand for medication.
Nurse in OHIO says sanitation wipes and PPE "come up missing in badge access areas." Now they're in a locked area. "I have no words," she says. "Disgraceful."
Nurse practitioner in INDIANA has seen patients steal Lysol and Clorox wipes from examination rooms. Hand sanitizer disappears. "We have had to begin locking everything up."
These are just a few stories from medical professionals I've called/texted with since yesterday. Is there incidental theft? Of course. Is it a significant problem that harms our readiness to deal with the pandemic? We'll see.
Nurse in TENNESSEE says n95 masks were being stolen from badge-access closets, "so they had to put them under lock and key."
ICU doc in MICHIGAN says theft hasn’t been “a terribly large issue on the inpatient side of things.” And while it seems like theft by patients (His ER has to “hide/lock down all of the PPE and wipes”) is incidental, docs at his hospital have to check-in and check-out N95 masks.
Biden and Trump campaigns weigh-in, plus more from doctors and nurses around the country:
