CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Leo Rios is a United States Marine Sergeant and disabled Vietnam era veteran.
He had heard some staff at the VA clinic were not wearing face masks.
That bothered him because he and other veterans come to see their doctors here.
"Well it bugged me simply because there's a concern for our medical providers safety," Rios said.
Rios says he'd heard about a local woman who makes masks out of her home, and she was asked to make some for medical staffers, first responders, people like that.
She made them for $6.00 apiece.
Then Rios says he contacted Representative Abel Herrero to see if he'd like to make a donation to help pay for the masks. He did.
Former Nueces County District Clerk Patsy Perez did as well.
People of the Coastal Bend helping people in a crisis.
We were with Rios when he walked up to the clinic.
"Good Morning! Are you currently having any flu-like symptoms?"
"No ma'am. I didn't want to go inside for a visit. What I'm here to do is, I have some masks that were made for you guys," he said.
Rios was invited inside the clinic while staff checked to make sure they could accept the masks.
Minutes later, Rios claims the Clinic told him since the masks were homemade they couldn't take them,
"I got turned down," he said. "They have a process for accepting masks and we didn't meet the requirements."
Rios claims the Clinic told him since the masks were homemade, they had no idea who had made them, nor how they'd been made.
They had no idea who had made them, nor how they'd been made.
Plus, they're expecting a shipment of 40,000 masks.
So now, he has to try to find somebody somewhere who needs 50 masks.
That shouldn't take long.