NY Coronavirus: LI, Westchester, NYC Hospitals Must Cooperate

NEW YORK — Long Island and Westchester hospitals are part of a new working group formed to cope with the stress of the new coronavirus on New York's health care system, which is rapidly being overwhelmed, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Tuesday. New York City hospitals, which have been the first and worst hit, will no longer deal separately with an influx of seriously ill patients.

"We put together a central coordinating team," Cuomo said at his daily news briefing. "Westchester's on it, Long Island is on it. It's a different mentality but we have to do it."

The peak of the coronavirus outbreak could hit New York City in just a week, Cuomo reminded reporters.

As of Tuesday morning, 75,795 cases of the coronavirus have been confirmed in New York state. While 10,929 people are currently hospitalized, 5,000 patients have been discharged, Cuomo said.

Hospitals in New York City that are strained will start to send patients to other hospitals before they get past their maximum capacity, he said. He doesn't want a repeat of the situation at Elmhurst Hospital in Queens, where there were reports that staff were overwhelmed with patients.

"We have to get better and faster at transferring patients," Cuomo said. "You almost have to shock the system into saying, 'We really have to operate as one.'"

A new rule to be issued Tuesday will require hospitals to list their equipment stockpiles to be shared on an as-needed basis, Cuomo said.

Also, 78,000 medical professionals have volunteered to help out so far, state officials said. An online portal will be launched Tuesday and the city's hospitals will have first access to available volunteers.

No patients have been transferred out of New York City yet, Cuomo said. First, staff from upstate hospitals will be sent to the city. If and when all the city's public and private hospitals are overwhelmed at the peak of the outbreak, patients will be transferred to other hospitals.

The height of the virus is expected to arrive in New York City in seven to 21 days from now, Cuomo said.

The cost to the hospitals helping out will be figured out later, he said.

"Who pays the bill should not determine who lives or dies," Cuomo said.

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