Nursing homes are running out of PPE

• Personal protective gear is vital in ensuring the virus doesn't spread from one patient to another.

Between the lines: FEMA announced in May that it would be sending a 14-day supply of protective supplies to nearly 15,000 nursing homes around the nation, but some have yet to receive the first batch.

• Some have received cloth masks instead of medical-grade ones, even though HHS says these masks aren't meant for caring for contagious patients.
• FEMA officials told KHN that, as of June 4, packages had been shipped to 11,287 nursing homes.

By the numbers: During the last two weeks of May, 3,213 of the more than 15,000 nursing homes in the country reported that they had less than a week's supply of masks, gowns, gloves, eye protectors or hand sanitizer.

• Of these facilities, 946 reported at least one confirmed coronavirus case since the pandemic started.
• 653 skilled nursing facilities told the government that they had run out of at least one type of protective supply during this time period.

Go deeper: Controlling the coronavirus in nursing homes won't be easy