In my mom’s dementia assisted living facility, they have started asking me to purchase gloves for the nurses to use. Shouldn’t they provide?

You need to realize this is an AL. Its a private residence just like if Mom was in an apt or an Independent living. All the AL supplies a room, meals, transportation, activities and outtings. Your Mom needing a bag changed is more care on their part and if not paying extra for that service, I am surprised. So yes, you need to supply the gloves.

And before you purchase them, ask what size, latex* or not, and powdered or not. If you buy in bulk to save money, only leave a box or two (if different sizes or types needed). This way you can figure how many are needed a day and how many boxes are needed regularly. I say this because, OPs on this forum have complained about parents using a large number of Depends only to find aides are borrowing to use on other residents. All residents in an AL are responsible for their own toiletries and incontinent supplies. Nursing homes are a different matter. They do supply these things.

*some people are allergic to latex.

When mom lived in Memory Care Assisted Living, I always paid extra for "incontinence supplies" which did not include disposable briefs which Amazon shipped there directly. I didn't ask for a breakdown of what those "supplies" were, but I'll betcha rubber gloves were part of the cost. Each resident uses a different amount of supplies monthly, so they differ and aren't included in monthly bills, just as briefs are not. Not all residents require briefs OR supplies, either, which makes it different for each person. Once hospice comes on board, all briefs and supplies are paid for by Medicare.

If my mom ran out of gloves or incontinence supplies that I provided when she was in MC ( 2 of them) then extra supplies would appear on her bill. My bulk purchases cost less then their supplies.. The same went for an extra load of laundry beyond the usual number of loads. Does her contract make any mention that they supply items for free.

I have never heard of a facility asking for a resident’s family to pay for gloves. That’s very odd. Speak with the director of nursing and ask if this is normal procedure. I doubt that it is.

I would speak to the administration.
Normally gloves and masks are provided.
However, your mother has special needs. This will have moved her into another category requiring almost "nursing type care". There may be rules and regulations around this that may apply to urostomy care, colostomy care, catheter care, suctioning care, and basically any care having to do with body secretions.

I think you will get a simple explanation from the administration. And wish you good luck.

Just as an afterthought: I would think, dealing with bodily fluids of this type, the administration would want to be especially cognizant of having GOOD QUALITY gloves. Many caregivers are becoming allergic to latex now as well. So I agree that this is a bit odd.

That is strange, the facility should provide gloves and any protective equipment