The hospital and health care facilities first responders are warning that $100 billion is needed for workers to stay safe and patients to get adequate care as people infected with the coronavirus seek medical treatment.
“We’re getting to a real dire position here with some hospitals having only a few days’ worth of masks on hand,” Washington State Hospital Association spokeswoman Beth Zborowski said in an NBC News story.
Zborowski said even after getting two supply shipments from the Strategic National Stockpile, some hospitals in Washington state are already running low on supplies, which will put health care workers at risk.
The coronavirus legislation signed into law by President Donald Trump includes funding to help hospitals by increasing the number of beds and medical supplies but does not provide a direct pipeline for needed goods, including ventilators and personal protective equipment for health care workers on the front lines.
NBC News reported on the National Hospital Association and the American Medical Association’s letter to Congress:
After a second spending bill without direct payments was signed into law by President Donald Trump on Wednesday, the American Hospital Association cautioned congressional leaders in a statement that “more needs to be urgently done.” That package expands sick leave and makes testing for the coronavirus more widely available.
On Thursday, the association dramatically expanded its earlier request from $1 billion to $100 billion for direct funding for hospitals, the group told NBC News.
In a joint letter to congressional leaders, the American Hospital Association, the American Medical Association and the American Nurses Association write: “Based on the initial costs in the states with growing COVID-19 community spread, Congress should allocate $100 billion to front line health care personnel and providers, including physicians, nurses, hospitals and health systems, and direct the federal agencies to begin to infuse funds immediately so that they can afford to take the necessary steps to fight the battle against this unseen enemy.”
The association said that the traditional distribution of money through various agencies and state entities takes far too long.
At the daily press conference of the coronavirus task force and President Donald Trump, the president was asked about the National Hospital Association’s concern of not getting enough funding in current legislation.
“That is a separate issue, but we are looking at it directly,” Trump said. “We are looking at it directly.”
“We are working with Democrats and Republicans on that,” Trump said. “We are looking at that specifically.”
Breitbart News made multiple requests to the National Hospital Association about the needs of health care first responders and whether those needs were being met.
The association did not respond to those inquiries.
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