By JULIE CUNNINGHAM
(Baystate Health) Monday morning, Andrew Artenstein, Chief Physician Executive and Incident Commander at Baystate Health, spoke to CNN regarding PPE acquisition in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Artenstein spoke about his experience acquiring much needed personal protective equipment for Baystate Health, complete with a visit from the FBI.
”The fact that we even thought about getting this equipment back to Massachusetts and the concern that it could be redirected at any time along the way just shows you the situation that many hospitals and health systems are in,” said Artenstein during the interview.
Artenstein told the CNN reporter that he inspected the KN95 masks, masks that are slightly different from the much coveted N95 masks, when they were delivered in two disguised food trucks. At the moment when Artenstein made the decision to move forward with the deal, he was met by two FBI agents who identified themselves, and made their purpose known. They were there to make sure all the PPE Artenstein was purchasing was going to medical personnel or first responders.
“The more I thought about that the more I appreciated it,” admitted Artenstein. Artenstein was told the FBI is fanning out teams across the United States in response to reports that some of the PPE equipment is going to resellers and not hospitals and first responders. Artenstein said in the end, he was able to purchase the KN95 masks, and Baystate now has enough for at least the short term future.