Senator Hassan Statement on Reports FEMA is Ending Defective Gown Delivery to New Hampshire

WASHINGTON – Following reports that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is stopping the sending of defective gowns to New Hampshire nursing homes and instead sending a different type of gown, Senator Hassan issued the following statement:

“After hearing concerns from New Hampshire nursing homes that FEMA was sending defective gowns and overall insufficient personal protective equipment, I have pushed FEMA to address these problems and ensure that nursing homes have the high-quality personal protective equipment that they need to keep residents and employees safe. While I’m pleased that FEMA has said it is no longer sending useless gowns to nursing homes here in New Hampshire, the administration still needs to make clear to Congress and the American people what it is doing to ensure adequate supply of effective personal protective equipment now and in the months to come. With approximately 80 percent of COVID-19-related deaths in New Hampshire connected to nursing homes and long-term care facilities, it is wholly unacceptable that the administration continues to fail to ensure that facilities have the medical supplies that they need to save lives.”

Following a virtual roundtable that Senator Hassan led with New Hampshire nursing home administrators where participants raised concerns over the personal protective equipment that they received from the federal government—along with reports across the country of defective personal protective equipment—Senator Hassan recently led her colleagues in raising these problems with FEMA and calling for answers. Under pressure from Senator Hassan at a recent hearing to be transparent with Congress and the American public on what personal protective equipment health care workers need, FEMA agreed to make public a document showing some of the agency’s supply and demand projections, and the Senator is continuing to push for answers from the administration about what it is doing to meet the personal protective equipment needs of communities across the country.

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