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If you poke around in a cabinet or closet of a hospital, you might find an extra supply or two stashed away. But you wouldn’ t expect to have to check the ceiling tiles.

At least, that’ s what Régine Villain thought. Now a senior vice president and chief supply chain and support services officer at Ochsner Health in Louisiana, she remembered one

memorable case in a past role, where the ceiling tiles in a hospital room had collapsed under the weight of medical supplies hoarded away by staff.

“ You have basically entire ceilings full of stuff that’ s stashed,” says Villain.“ It’ s a real thing, and it’ s happened in more than one place. You open drawers, you open closets. I mean, every nook and cranny

that somebody can think of, if they want to stash it, they will do it.”

As Villain says, it’ s not an isolated incident. According to healthcare research firm Advisory Board,“ secret stashes” of medical supplies— the phenomenon of nurses and other clinicians stowing away preferred products outside of approved store rooms and the normal

supply chain— is one of the top 10 trends impacting healthcare bottom lines in 2025.

A lack of trust, a fear of missing out While the creation of secret stashes can be disruptive, the root of the problem isn’ t carelessness or bad intentions on the side of clinicians. Nurses and other staff want to have the