ALBANY, N.Y. (NEXSTAR) — New York state spent $452.8 million on almost 250,000 pieces of medical equipment during COVID, but almost none of the inventory helped during the crisis. Hundreds of thousands of items remain unused in warehouses, according to State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.
DiNapoli said, “I urge the Department of Health to develop and execute a strategic plan for the maintenance and use of these and future medical equipment purchases so New York is well prepared for the next public health emergency.”
An audit report released on Friday—available to read at the bottom of this story—showed major gaps in maintenance and oversight, with weak controls and poor recordkeeping leaving taxpayers on the hook for millions in fees to store the devices. Out of 247,343 medical items purchased and 51 donations from the federal government, only 324 got to COVID patients.
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New York’s stored COVID equipment includes ventilators, CPAP and BiPAP machines, oxygen tanks, pulse oximeters, x-ray machines, oxygen concentrators, and infusion pumps, according to the report. Today, the state still pays to store them in warehouses managed by the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services.
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After COVID wound down, a Medical Stockpile Steering Committee recommended keeping 51,140 devices in the stockpile. It also suggested scheduled, preventive maintenance on 4,468 items. That left over 190,000 pieces of equipment without any plan for use or upkeep. A December 2021 survey showed that 546 hospitals could put to use 24,585 of the unused items, but only four of them were ultimately used in 2023 and 2024, according to the auditors…