NYC PPE Stockpile Information Released 

Situation Report | September 21, 2020

As communicated to members in late August, New York City (NYC) has been working to compile an emergency stockpile of personal protective equipment (PPE) for home care and other health care providers that service NYC in the event that there is a COVID-19 resurgence. 

To streamline the product request process, NYC is partnering with Medline to support the requesting and delivery process. Once in effect, this will replace the system that HCA and the New York State Association of Health Care Providers (HCP) worked out with the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYCDOHMH) whereby some of our members devoted much time and resources to serve as distribution sites for PPE furnished by the City for home care providers in all boroughs.

The NYC fall stockpile will act as a last-case option for your eligible organizations, and all other options should be exhausted before requesting PPE from New York City. This is an emergency source for PPE; by submitting a request through Medline.com, you are confirming that the PPE you are requesting is required to protect staff and patients during the COVID-19 response and you currently have less than one week of the requested supplies on hand. 

Once this is up and running, all PPE requests will be placed through the Medline.com website and delivered directly to your agency, subject to approvals from NYC. 

This opportunity is available to Certified Home Health Agencies (CHHAs) and Licensed Home Care Services Agencies (LHCSAs). If your LHCSA is owned by a CHHA, the CHHA is responsible for ordering PPE through this process. (Please reach out to your CHHA to coordinate.)

If you are a standalone LHCSA, NYCDOHM previously requested that you submit a special form to register for this process. (See our August 26 alert here.)

Note: Contrary to a previous policy, NYCDOHM has decided that LHCSAs contracted with 1199 SEIU will now be required to register as well. These LHCSAs were supposed to have been sent a “survey” last week to complete. 

Medline will soon be holding educational programs to explain its process and procedures, and HCA will notify members once those dates are announced. 

The following information was provided by NYCDOHMH:  

  • NYC may seek to recover costs for provision of PPE supplies that is not reimbursable under applicable Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) emergency reimbursement policies. At this time, FEMA policies do not enable reimbursement of supplies provided to private for-profit entities, and, therefore, the City may seek cost recovery from these entities at a later date.
  • You can place orders above your allocated amount but an order containing any one item over its allocation amount will flag the entire order and will require approval.
  • The following items may be available: Isolation Gowns, Goggles, Nitrile Gloves, Faceshields, Body Bags, Bouffant Caps, Boot Covers, Surgical Masks, N95, Infrared Digital Thermometers, Resuscitation Bags, Hand Sanitizer.
  • Monthly order quantity caps are established for each organization.
  • You may request product once per week, as needed, or in an emergency where all other supplier options have been exhausted.
  • Product quantities are represented as cases and will be delivered in cases.

For any questions on Medline.com, please contact the Medline.com NYC customer service desk an 866-478-1490 ext. 2222.