NYC has a big problem.
Coronavirus Cases Strain New York City Hospitals: ‘We’re Getting Pounded’
Coronavirus Cases Strain New York City Hospitals: ‘We’re Getting Pounded’
Swiftly rising number of patients, sooner than expected, leads to supply shortages and concern about what is to come
By
Shalini Ramachandran,
Joe Palazzolo,
Melanie Grayce West and
Melanie Evans
March 20, 2020 11:58 am ET
New York City hospitals are already straining under the
onslaught of novel coronavirus cases, even as state officials say the real peak of the outbreak is nearly a month and a half away.
Doctors at the largest public hospital in New York say equipment shortages have resulted in them wearing the same masks for as long as a week.
Emergency-room physicians at another hospital are having to reuse gowns. Some large hospitals already have exceeded the capacity of their intensive-care units.
At least one city hospital, faced with dwindling supply of ventilators amid the surge of coronavirus patients, had to seek more from a sister hospital.
“We’re getting pounded,” said Mangala Narasimhan, a doctor at the Long Island Jewish Medical Center, part of Northwell Health, the largest hospital system in New York. “I’ve been in ICU care for 15 years, and this is the worst I have ever seen things.”
Hospitals expect the problems to mount. Earlier this week, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the outbreak is expected to peak in 45 days, and by then the state would
need tens of thousands of more beds. On Friday, the governor
ordered all nonessential workers in the state to stay at home.