>>> I DON’T BELIEVE WE’RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO FLATTEN THE CURVE
ENOUGH TO MEET THE CAPACITY OF
THE HEALTH CARE SYSTEM.
>> NEW YORK GOVERNOR ANDREW
CUOMO STILL FEARS HIS STATE’S
BEST EFFORTS MIGHT NOT BE
ENOUGH, AS CONCERN MOUNTS OVER
THE DEMAND FOR RESPIRATORS,
VENTILATORS, AND OTHER ESSENTIAL
EQUIPMENT NEEDED FOR THE
EXPECTED INFLUX OF PEOPLE
REQUIRING TREATMENT.
REQUIRING TREATMENT. POTENTIAL EXPOSURE TO THE
CORONAVIRUS IS ALSO LIMITING THE
NUMBER OF NURSES AVAILABLE TO
HELP TREAT PATIENTS.
CONNECTICUT GOVERNOR ED LAMONT
SAID LAST NIGHT THAT 200
EMPLOYEES, INCLUDING NURSES
EMPLOYED BY AN INTERSTATE HEALTH
SYSTEM IN NEW YORK AND
CONNECTICUT, HAVE BEEN OUT OF
WORK OVER EXPOSURE TO THE VIRUS.
LET’S BRING IN THE PRESIDENT AND
CEO OF NEW YORK PRESBYTERIAN
HOSPITAL, DR. STEVEN CORWIN.
DR. CORWIN, THANK YOU SO MUCH
FOR BEING ON WITH US.
I HAVE TO START BY ASKING, ARE
YOUR HEALTH CARE WORKERS EXPOSED
TO THE CORONAVIRUS?
DO PEOPLE WHO HAVE SUSPECTED
SYMPTOMS OF THE CORONAVIRUS WALK
IN AND MIX WITH YOUR HEALTH CARE
WORKERS IN THE REGULAR ER?
>> WE’VE TAKEN EXTRAORDINARY
STEPS ON OUR EMERGENCY
DEPARTMENT TO PREVENT THAT, BUT
THERE’S NO QUESTION THAT THE
AVAILABILITY OF HEALTH CARE
WORKERS IS GOING TO BE KEY FOR
THIS CRISIS.
THIS CRISIS. THE ABILITY NOT TO FURLOUGH
HEALTH CARE WORKERS BECOMES
CRITICALLY IMPORTANT.
CRITICALLY IMPORTANT. I THINK WHAT THE PRESIDENT DID
YESTERDAY WAS THE RIGHT MOVE.
HAVING WORKED WITH GOVERNOR
CUOMO NOW THE PAST COUPLE WEEKS,
I THINK HE’S MADE EXTRAORDINARY
STEPS.
STEPS. I ALSO WANT TO CONGRATULATE,
THANK ALL AMERICANS FOR THE
SACRIFICE THEY’RE MAKING.
WE’RE TALKING ABOUT, AS YOU
KNOW, A HARSH ECONOMIC IMPACT.
BUSINESSES GOING DOWN.
PEOPLE LOSING THEIR JOBS.
IF WE CAN FLATTEN THE PEAK OF
THIS, THEN THE HOSPITALS IN NEW
YORK AND THE SURROUNDING AREAS
CAN MEET THE SURGE.
>> SO THERE WAS TALK OF MILITARY
HOSPITALS AND CORONAVIRUS CARE
CENTERS SEPARATE FROM HOSPITALS.
I KNOW IT’S REALLY DIFFICULT IN
NEW YORK CITY.
I BELIEVE SOMEBODY THAT WE KNOW
WALKED INTO ONE OF YOUR
HOSPITALS AND WAS SITTING IN A
HALLWAY.
HALLWAY. HE ULTIMATELY WAS DIAGNOSED WITH
THE CORONAVIRUS.
THE CORONAVIRUS. JUST LIKE WHAT THE PRESIDENT IS
DOING, WHICH IS SEPARATE
AMERICANS TO PROTECT THEM, HOW
ARE HEALTH CARE WORKERS IN YOUR
ERs AND IN THE HALLWAYS OF YOUR
HOSPITALS BEING SEPARATED TO BE
PROTECTED?
PROTECTED? THEN AGAIN, ALLOWING SOME HEALTH
CARE WORKERS WHO ARE PROTECTED
WITH GEAR ADDRESS THE PROBLEM.
IS THAT -- IS THAT WORKED OUT
YET?
YET? >> WE WORKED IT OUT IN OUR
EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT.
EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT. I SAW YOUR SEGMENT YESTERDAY
WITH THE PATIENT WHO BECOME
POSITIVE.
POSITIVE. PART OF THE ISSUE IS THE
AVAILABILITY OR LACK OF
AVAILABILITY OF TESTING.
WE WISH HIM WELL.
I THINK WE FOLLOWED ALL THE
PROTOCOLS IN TERMS OF TESTING
HIM.
HIM. WE’RE ASSUMING NOW WHEN PEOPLE
COME INTO OUR EMERGENCY
DEPARTMENT THAT THEY ARE GOING
TO POTENTIALLY BE INFECTED.
WE’VE CHANGED THE PROTECTIVE
EQUIPMENT FOR ALL OF OUR
EMERGENCY PERSONNEL.
EMERGENCY PERSONNEL. REMEMBER, MIKA, THAT ONE OF THE
ISSUES THAT WE HAVE TO SOLVE IS
THE AVAILABILITY OF PPE, PATIENT
PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT.
PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT. IN PARTICULAR, MASKS, WHICH ARE
IN SHORT SUPPLY.
>> DR. CORWIN, IT’S WILLIE
GEIST.
GEIST. THANKS SO MUCH FOR ALL THE WORK
YOU ALL ARE DOING.
PLEASE SEND YOUR BEST TO YOUR
NURSES AND YOUR DOCTORS, WORKING
AROUND THE CLOCK ON THIS.
>> THANKS.
>> THANKS. >> AS WE TALK ABOUT HOSPITALS
BEING SWAMPED, CAN YOU EXPLAIN
WHAT THAT MEANS EXACTLY, WHAT
THAT LOOKS LIKE, AND WHY THAT
WOULD HAPPEN, AND IMPLICATIONS,
ALSO, FOR PEOPLE WHO DON’T HAVE
CORONAVIRUS?
CORONAVIRUS? OTHER SURGERIES THAT HAVE TO BE
PUT ON THE BACK BURNER.
>> FIRST, WE CANCELED ALL THE
ELECTIVE SURGERIES.
ELECTIVE SURGERIES. ALL HOSPITALS ARE MEETING TODAY
TO GIVE THE GOVERNOR A REPORT ON
SURGE CAPACITY.
SURGE CAPACITY. SECOND, SWAMPED MEANS, DO YOU
HAVE ENOUGH ICU BEDS?
DO YOU HAVE ENOUGH HEALTH CARE
WORKERS?
WORKERS? DO YOU HAVE ENOUGH VENTILATORS,
ET CETERA?
ET CETERA? WE’RE A 4,000-BED SYSTEM.
3,500 MEDICAL SURGICAL BEDS.
ABOUT 10% TO 15% OF THE BEDS ARE
ICU BEDS, MAYBE A LITTLE MORE.
WE HAVE 500 VENTILATORS.
WE HAVE AN ADDITIONAL CAPACITY
FOR 250 VENTILATORS.
THAT’S WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT
IN TERMS OF IF WE REACH THOSE
LIMITS, ARE WE OVERWHELMED?
IT’S FINE TO TALK ABOUT HAVING
MILITARY HOSPITALS OR FIELD
HOSPITALS, BUT IT IS REALLY
PEOPLE WHO KNOW HOW TO TAKE CARE
OF INTENSIVELY ILL PATIENTS, AS
YOU SAW IN ITALY.
I THINK WHAT WE’RE TRYING TO DO
IS MAKE SURE WE CAN FLATTEN THAT
CURVE SO THAT WE HAVE THE ICU
CAPABILITY AVAILABLE.
CAPABILITY AVAILABLE. >> DR. CORWIN, YOU HAVE AN
AUDIENCE RIGHT NOW.
A LOT OF PEOPLE IN WASHINGTON
WHO CAN DO THINGS ABOUT THIS
PROBLEM.
PROBLEM. YOU HAVE SENATORS AND GOVERNORS
AND THE WHITE HOUSE WATCHING.
WHAT DO YOU NEED, SPEAKING NOT
JUST FOR YOUR HOSPITAL BUT
PERHAPS HOSPITALS ACROSS THE
COUNTRY, WHAT TO YOU NEED AS OF
TODAY TO FLATTEN THE CURVE AND
STOP YOURSELF FROM BEING
SWAMPED?
SWAMPED? >> WELL, THE FIRST THING IS
EVERYTHING THE PRESIDENT DID
YESTERDAY AND MORE, SO THAT WE
CAN SOCIALLY ISOLATE PEOPLE.
THERE’S NO TREATMENT FOR THIS AT
THIS POINT.
THIS POINT. NO VACCINE.
NO VACCINE. SECOND THEN IS MAKE SURE WE RAMP
UP THE MANUFACTURING OF
PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT AND
VENTILATORS.
VENTILATORS. THEN THE THIRD THING, TOMEKA MEE
POINT, IS PROTECT OUR HEALTH
CARE WORKERS.
CARE WORKERS. WHICH GETS BACK TO HAVING ENOUGH
PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT SO THEY
DON’T BECOME INFECTED.
>> ALL RIGHT.
KEEP US POSTED ON THAT.