Addressing comments made over the weekend by President Trump, Dr. Leana Wen, former health commissioner for the city of Baltimore, said it’s insulting to suggest hospitals are hoarding supplies.
Without providing any evidence or examples, President Trump raised questions on Sunday about why there is such a large demand for masks in hospitals and again charged there is some “hoarding” of ventilators.
Speaking with CNN’s Alisyn Camerota, Wen said, “It’s not as if we get through today and we’re done. We need to be preparing for months or years, and frankly, it’s insulting to suggest that hospitals are somehow keeping equipment away from health care workers, and jeopardizing their lives.”
“We’re looking at the numbers of patients coming in, and we can easily see how much equipment is needed and not only that, but it’s not just the equipment that we’re using right now, we also have to be prepared for the equipment that we’re going to be needing in the months to come, because this is not a one-time event. It’s not as if we get through today and we’re done,” Wen said.
Wen said in the Baltimore area, “this is still the relative calm before the storm but we know that storm is not far away because we are hearing and seeing the reports of our colleagues in New York.”
