On Thursday March 5, NYU Winthrop Hospital took in Nassau County’s first coronavirus patient, a 42-year-old Uniondale resident and Mercy Medical Center worker.
In the two weeks since the man was hospitalized, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Nassau County has risen to 372, as of Friday.
A number of coronavirus patients treated at NYU Winthrop Hospital in Mineola over the past two weeks have recovered enough to be sent home, a hospital spokesperson told Blank Slate Media on Thursday.
The hospital has approximately 100 isolation rooms designated for patients who test positive for COVID-19.
They have the ability to create “many dozens more,” the hospital spokesperson said. Emergency department and infectious disease experts are preparing additional locations on the hospital’s campus for potential patients as well, in case the number of patients exceeds the space available in the existing isolation rooms.
NYU Winthrop is taking extensive measures to protect hospital workers and patients with symptoms of the virus awaiting test results.
“NYU Winthrop Hospital didn’t just spring into action today,” said NYU Winthrop Hospital’s Bruce Polsky, who is the chairman of the Department of Medicine and an infectious disease specialist. “We’ve been engaged in preparedness since the first case was reported in China. There’s no greater cause today for alarm among Long Islanders than there was yesterday or last week.”
All staff and potential COVID-19 patients are required to wear Personal Protection Equipment, which includes gowns, gloves, surgical masks and protective eye shields, a spokesperson for NYU Winthrop stated.
The hospital has also implemented “flow plans” designed to minimize others’ exposure to coronavirus patients while transporting patients from the emergency room to isolation rooms.
Some hospitals have begun calling doctors and nurses out of retirement as they brace for an influx of coronavirus patients.
While NYU Winthrop has not taken this measure, the hospital is asking staff to volunteer in understaffed areas, according to a Winthrop spokesperson.
Individuals with possible symptoms are encouraged to use NYU Langone’s virtual urgent care service in order to avoid exposure to others.
“Patients who do not have severe symptoms should likely pursue care elsewhere as we need to maintain capacity for severely ill patients,” said Dr. Ian Wittman, chief of service in the emergency department of NYU Langone Hospital–Brooklyn. “NYU Langone has greatly increased our capacity in Virtual Urgent Care and this is a fantastic option for patients with urgent needs that are not potentially life-threatening.”Patients can schedule a video visit by going to https://nyulangone.org/locations/virtual-urgent-care.
