Name: Iowa agency's order for nearly 100,000 masks for COVID-19 response canceled under FEMA directive, state official says
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Iowa agency's order for nearly 100,000 masks for COVID-19 response canceled under FEMA directive, state official says

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Des Moines RegisterView CommentsAn Iowa agency's order of&nbsp;nearly 100,000 high-quality masks to aid in its coronavirus response was canceled last month after President Donald Trump invoked his authority to give the federal government&nbsp;priority for&nbsp;obtaining and distributing&nbsp;those supplies, according to a top state&nbsp;official&nbsp;and documentation obtained by the Des Moines Register.Kelly Garcia, director of the Iowa Department of Human Services, confirmed to the Register that her request for 98,500 N95 respirator masks was canceled late last month after a supplier in western Iowa alerted her&nbsp;staff that the Federal Emergency Management Agency, under authority from the president,&nbsp;would distribute those supplies.DHS, Iowa’s largest state agency,&nbsp;oversees six facilities that house and treat some of the state’s most vulnerable populations. It also works with health care providers around the state to&nbsp;provide social services to Medicaid recipients.Iowa has received nearly 300,000 pieces of personal protective equipment, or PPE, from the federal government in recent weeks, according to FEMA. But for DHS, obtaining critical supplies&nbsp;has&nbsp;sometimes meant ordering lower quality masks to protect its workers.N95 masks, which filter airborne particles, have become&nbsp;one of the most in-demand supplies around the country during the novel coronavirus pandemic.The unfulfilled delivery of N95 masks to an Iowa agency highlights the complication some local&nbsp;entities and their suppliers have faced&nbsp;if they try&nbsp;to&nbsp;obtain certain medical supplies during the national scramble for them. The federal-local relationship during the pandemic has,&nbsp;that the federal government seized medical supplies. FEMA officials say the agency doesn't&nbsp;have the authority to seize supplies.FEMA did not comment on the Iowa&nbsp;order involving DHS. In an email only attributable to "a FEMA spokesperson," the agency said&nbsp;it works to resolve issues involving hospitals, state governments or companies.In&nbsp;Iowa, Garcia described the canceled order as a "disruption" to her agency. She has continued to order smaller batches of medical supplies through the Iowa supplier, though&nbsp;not N95 masks.DHS does not&nbsp;have any outstanding orders with the Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Management, which handles FEMA orders."We are thankful to our partners in emergency management and in the Governor’s Office for providing us back up supply after this disruption," Garcia said in an email. "Because of the large quantity we require, we have concerns regarding our ongoing need.”Gov. Kim Reynolds&nbsp;met with the president at the White House on May 6. Vice President Mike Pence visited Iowa two days later.Pat Garrett, a spokesman for Reynolds, declined to comment on whether Reynolds spoke to the president or vice president about the canceled order for N95 masks."Obtaining PPE continues to be a top priority and the state is working through all means to acquire it, including the private sector as well as the federal government," Garrett said in a statement.The masks set for the agency&nbsp;had been expected to be used by staff at DHS facilities, and people who provide community-based services.&nbsp;Department officials had worked&nbsp;for several weeks to secure the N95 masks before placing the April order, according to Garcia.In May, the state human services department ordered "9001" masks in lieu of the N95 masks, according to billing records obtained by the Register under the state's public records law. Matt Highland, a DHS spokesman, said the department's order — totaling 25,000 masks&nbsp;— was delivered.Garcia said her staff has had&nbsp;"fit problems with some of the lesser quality masks" that it obtained since it couldn't get the N95 masks."The Department continues our efforts to secure PPE for our team, those we serve and our community partners," Garcia said. "The order that was canceled would’ve provided certainty around our supply in the months ahead."According to DHS billing records, the department at one point in April recorded that it needed more than&nbsp;74,800 masks: 12,600 N95 masks for the&nbsp;mental health institute in Cherokee; 5,432 masks for the mental health institute in Independence; 5,040 masks for the boys' school in Eldora where residents are court-ordered to reside; 21,504 masks for the Woodward Resource Center; 12,320 masks for the Glenwood Resource Center; and 18,000 masks for home and community-based services. The agency tries to place orders&nbsp;based on an eight-week period.Records show that Brunow Contracting, a Council Bluffs-based materials supplier, has frequently fulfilled the agency's orders for medical supplies in the past.Tamara Brunow, owner of the company, confirmed Garcia's account of the mask order but declined to provide additional comment.About 2,200 state employees work at the DHS&nbsp;facilities, according to the agency.It runs two centers to&nbsp;treat and house people with disabilities. One of those, the Woodward Resource Center, reported that 11&nbsp;residents had tested positive for the coronavirus, as of Wednesday. The department, which&nbsp;has tested more than 130 residents, has moved infected residents to&nbsp;separate housing.As of Wednesday, 20 staff members at five of the state facilities, including 15 at the Woodward center, have tested positive for the coronavirus.In early April, , a law that gives a president broad authority to control domestic industries. In this case,&nbsp;the president&nbsp;directed&nbsp;private companies to prioritize supply orders for the federal government.FEMA was given power through that&nbsp;order . That means&nbsp;smaller&nbsp;suppliers, like the western Iowa company that had been working with DHS, would have to redirect orders from clients like DHS&nbsp;to the federal government.It’s unclear whether the order for N95 masks from DHS&nbsp;advanced far enough that supplies&nbsp;were set aside or redistributed to other states.Deanna Frazier, a spokeswoman for&nbsp;FEMA, did not have a comment on the DHS order, but she said any order for medical supplies should be&nbsp;handled through the Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Management.Lucinda Parker, a spokeswoman for Iowa's Homeland Security department, said in an email that state agencies are encouraged to place orders through&nbsp;their normal vendors to obtain needed supplies."The resource management and purchasing system is working as designed," Parker said.Parker said Iowa's homeland security department&nbsp;has provided "approximately 13,000 items of PPE and supplies" to DHS, including&nbsp;N95 respirator masks, other masks, gloves gowns, face shields, and hand sanitizer. Barbara Rodriguez covers health care and politics for the Register. She can be reached by email at or by phone at 515-284-8011. Follow her on Twitter .Your subscription makes work like this possible. Sign up at&nbsp;.View Comments

Des Moines RegisterView CommentsAn Iowa agency's order of&nbsp;nearly 100,000 high-quality masks to aid in its coronavirus response was canceled last month after President Donald Trump invoked his authority to give the federal government&nbsp;priority for&nbsp;obtaining and distributing&nbsp;those supplies, according to a top state&nbsp;official&nbsp;and documentation obtained by the Des Moines Register.Kelly Garcia, director of the Iowa Department of Human Services, confirmed to the Register that her request for 98,500 N95 respirator masks was canceled late last month after a supplier in...

Iowa agency's order for nearly 100,000 masks for COVID-19 response canceled under FEMA directive, state official says

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