The federal government is sending 1,000 personnel to New York State, including doctors, nurses, respiratory technicians and therapists, to help the state’s overwhelmed hospital systems. The first 325 personnel were deployed to the New York City hospital system over the weekend.
The USNS Comfort medical ship is docked on the West Side of Manhattan and has 1,000 beds but has been criticized for not taking coronavirus patients for fear of infecting the ship.
Cuomo has also setup a surge healthcare force to help hospitals. Over 85,000 health professionals, including 22,000 out-of-state individuals, have signed up to volunteer as part of the healthcare force during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“The operational challenge facing our health care system at the apex of the curve is impossible – we are asking our hospitals to do more than ever before with less equipment, supplies and staff, but we don’t have any other options,” Governor Cuomo said. “We are continuing to operate on a surge and flex system where all our hospitals across the state are working together as one and sharing resources, and we are receiving help from other states, businesses and the federal government to boost our system’s capacity, including 1,000 federal personnel to work in our most stressed hospitals. I know how much we are asking of our health care workers on the frontline, and I thank them for everything they are doing because they are true heroes.”
