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BUFFALO, N.Y. — You may remember during the COVID crisis in 2020 and 2021 that New York State and Erie County government leaders spent millions to get various medical equipment and protective clothing to help safeguard those in the healthcare industry and the public.
Now, a new state comptroller's audit raises questions about what happened to all those state supplies. And it is spurring questions on Erie County's supplies as well. At the height of the COVID epidemic in 2020, state and Erie county government officials had to scramble to acquire PPE - that is personal protective equipment - like all the masks, gloves, home and lab testing kits and materials to safeguard hospital staff and residents.
Some of it was even lost in a major Amherst warehouse fire back then. At the state level, as seen in pictures with the comptroller's audit, much of it still sits in storage in various state warehouses, along with what the comptroller's office says are expensive x-ray machines, ventilators, and other breathing assist and oxygen equipment. That report issued last Friday states they determined that over $452 million dollars worth of DME - or durable medical equipment - was purchased by the state through emergency executive orders back then.
A small amount of equipment was also acquired through the federal government or donations. That audit also said some of it was purchased with credit cards with a lack of financial controls and the subsequent inability to certify deliveries of the equipment. That comptroller's report states that not much of the supply was distributed even during the crisis period and that state officials really did not make or follow a definite plan to reduce the stockpile for those items.
The state's Department of Health responded that the agency does have appropriate internal cost controls and did distribute some supplies. So at the Erie County level, where also plenty of PPE supplies from Ziploc bags to body bags were purchased, sometimes with federal dollars, there was a 2022 inventory released and a warehouse tour back then for lawmakers. 2 On Your Side spoke with Erie County Legislator Lindsay Lorigo who said, "I can't tell you that we do have a recent tally or inventory on what still exists.
If it's been disbursed or even if it's been offered to different localities or hospitals." Lorigo, along with her Republican colleague Legislator Frank Todaro, also have storage questions. Among them, "Where is it being stored.
Are we paying rent on this building? Do we own it? How much space is it taking up? You know there's a lot of costs additionally to anything like this. You know is this a building that we have security on?" Lorigo said she will urge the members of the Republican minority caucus of the legislature to send a letter to County Executive Poloncarz and Comptroller Hardwick to request an updated inventory of that PPE supply for the county. An Erie County spokesman said they did not buy ventilators and their rented warehouse stores other supplies as well.
The county comptroller's previous 2022-23 audit seemed to focus more-so on the procedure of emergency supply purchasing with policy suggestions for future such potential emergencies. It is not clear if there were further discussions on that topic..
