The most important responsibility of a community’s political leaders is ensuring the safety of the community’s residents and visitors. This duty has taken on even greater importance as we all deal with the coronavirus pandemic.
In addition, while the decline in the business environment in Great Neck Plaza has been growing for many years, certainly the coronavirus pandemic and the lockdown have seriously exacerbated the situation.
And, now, even with shops and restaurants permitted to be open for business, the reality is that many people continue to avoid them due to their concerns about catching coronavirus and getting ill with COVID-19.
Leonard Katz and his Revive Great Neck Plaza team plan on having a physician volunteer his/her time to the team as a health advisor for Great Neck Plaza. This physician will have experience and competence, not only in infection control issues but also in health care in the post-acute care settings of nursing facilities and assisted living facilities.
He/she will be knowledgeable concerning federal and state Health Department regulations for these health care settings. This physician will be available to meet with the appropriate administrative personnel of the local nursing home as well as the assisted living site, to review their infection control protocols and supplies of personal protective equipment and will offer his/her assistance as requested to these facilities, not only related to coronavirus but any health issue such as influenza, gastrointestinal illnesses, etc.
Having a local physician to serve in this capacity should help reduce not only the residents’ concerns and anxieties about coronavirus and other communicable infectious diseases but also their families’ worries as well.
This physician will also be able to meet with the owners of local businesses to offer guidance for them regarding social distancing protocols or other questions they might have about coronavirus and other health issues that may come up going forward and will offer assistance as necessary to assist them in obtaining additional personal protective equipment and to be a resource for them as needed.
Leonard Katz and the Revive Great Neck Plaza team understand that our senior citizens, especially those living in post-acute care settings, represent the most vulnerable subset of the population and having a physician on the team who is experienced in post-acute care and infection control will help to ensure the safety of these most susceptible of our village’s residents.
The Revive Great Neck Plaza team also appreciates that having a physician on the team who can offer guidance and answer questions for our business owners will help maintain the safest environment during the ongoing pandemic for the proprietors of the shops and restaurants and their customers.
This will aid in restoring confidence in our residents and visitors and in allaying their concerns and worries about patronizing the Plaza’s business establishments.
This innovation is yet another reason why the voters of the Village of Great Neck Plaza need to vote for Leonard Katz and his Revive Great Neck Plaza team on Sept. 15.
Dr. Mitchell Wolfson
Great Neck
