COVID footprint: New York State’s 200 or so hospitals now 1 sprawling health system
It’s one for all—and all as one—across the Empire State. There Gov. Andrew Cuomo has informally merged all New York’s hospitals into one massive entity to deal with COVID-19.
That’s about 200 hospitals that had a collective total of approximately 53,000 permanent licensed beds prior to the addition of thousands more temporary beds, mostly in New York City, set up for the crisis.
Asked by the online outlet Vox about the situation on the ground that led to the seemingly spontaneous consolidation, one physician leader on COVID-besieged Long Island doesn’t mince words.
“We’re in an almost apocalyptic crisis, which requires cutting through the bullshit,” Peter Viccellio, MD, associate CMO of emergency medicine at Stony Brook University Hospital, tells reporter Dylan Scott. “Fighting against each other for resources—this isn’t the time. Resources need to be distributed in a rational way. The current rugby scrum is nonsense.”
As mentioned in Cuomo’s nearly daily press conferences, the initial interhospital agreement already has healthcare workers from hospitals less affected by the crush, so far at least, transferring to facilities under greater stress. The same goes for ventilators and other supplies in critical demand.
Right now most recipients of the transferred resources are, of course, in NYC.
New York’s state health department is overseeing the transfers and coordinating distribution of PPE.
Karen Joynt Maddox, MD, MPH, of Washington University in St. Louis, tells Vox she believes New York’s response is exactly “the kind of organization we need in a pandemic, with very clear guardrails around the scenarios under which it’s put into place and under which it no longer applies. I can see plenty of potential problems, but plenty of upside too.”
Enough upside to inspire imitators among other states—whether they merge informally or officially? Don’t count out the possibility, suggests reporter Scott.
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Dave P. has worked in journalism, marketing and public relations for more than 30 years, frequently concentrating on hospitals, healthcare technology and Catholic communications. He has also specialized in fundraising communications, ghostwriting for CEOs of local, national and global charities, nonprofits and foundations.