Tents Will Expand Mt. Sinai Emergency Rooms During Coronavirus

NEW YORK, NY — Triage tents set up on the street outside Mount Sinai emergency rooms will expand the hospital network's ability to deal with the coronavirus crisis, hospital officials said this week.

The New York hospital system is working on setting up tents outside emergency departments at six of its hospitals — five in New York City and one in Long Island — as its network takes extra precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19, a spokesperson said Tuesday.

The first tent will be set up at Mount Sinai Brooklyn, found on Kings Highway in the Flatlands, followed by four Manhattan hospitals and one in Long Island.

"The tents will be critical in helping us limit the spread of the disease between patients and staff," hospital officials said in a statement, adding that they will expand the emergency room "footprint."

Eventually, Lower Manhattan's Mount Sinai Beth Israel, Mount Sinai Brooklyn, The Mount Sinai Hospital on the Upper East Side, Mount Sinai South Nassau and Mount Sinai West and Mount Sinai Morningside, both on the Upper West Side, will each have their own tent.

Hospital staff did not immediately have information about how big each tent will be.

The tents, which the West Side Rag first reported on, are part of several steps Mt. Sinai is taking to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, which had infected nearly 15,000 New York City residents as of Tuesday morning.

The hospital network is also limiting visitors, banning travel among its staff and expanding its virtual care options through "video visits" with emergency medicine physicians, the spokesperson said.

The visitor restrictions mean that, as of Tuesday, Mt. Sinai hospitals are closed to all visitors except one healthy visitor for pediatric, neonatal intensive care unit or end of life situations.

"We are working diligently to protect and care for the communities we serve, and respond quickly to this evolving public health crisis," they said.

Other New York City hospital networks have also banned visitors during the pandemic.

Some New Yorkers even started a petition against New York Presbyterian's visitor restrictions, which bar birthing partners from joining to support pregnant women in labor.

For more information about the visitor restrictions, COVID-19 or what to do if you think you need hospital services, click here.