How NYC hospitals are handling the latest COVID wave

New York City hospitals say they are treating an increasing number of COVID-19 patients, but are ready for any potential increase.

At Northwell Health, the state’s largest healthcare provider, 399 COVID-19 patients were treated at its hospitals on Friday, compared with 900 at the same time last year, said Dr. John D’Angelo, Head of Integrated Operations and Senior Vice President of Emergency Medicine.

D’Angelo said 25 percent of those admitted with COVID-19 were vaccinated but had other risk factors that made them more ill.

“The unvaccinated group – it does not spare anyone. It’s all age groups – some with risks some without,” he said.

Despite fewer COVID-19 patients, there were still 3,500 people hospitalized in Northwell facilities on Friday, the same as at this point last year. But now there are more patients with other diseases like the flu or pneumonia, D’Angelo said.

New York State experienced a record-breaking 21,000 plus new coronavirus infections over a 24-hour period this week.

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“All the other viruses stayed home last year,” he said. “And everything is back in full force right now.”

Still, D’Angelo said, Northwell had enough supplies and space to accommodate a potential COVID-19 influx, though the staff could be challenging. He said the system had a pool of nurses to move around where they are needed.

Northwell recently sent nurses to the state to help at overwhelmed hospitals.

Physiotherapists and occupational therapists bring individual bags of personal protective equipment before entering the room of a COVID-19 patient in 2020.

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Healthcare professionals transport a patient from an ambulance to Maimonides Medical Center.

AFP via Getty Images / Angela Weiss

Across the country, there were 3,839 people hospitalized with COVID-19 on Thursday with 1,000 of those patients in New York City facilities, according to government figures.

New York City’s public hospital system insisted it was “better prepared than ever.” The public Elmhurst Hospital was overwhelmed at the start of the March 2020 pandemic.

“COVID cases are nowhere near the records we set in the first wave of the pandemic, and we can seamlessly monitor capacity across facilities and adjust as needed,” said Christopher Miller, a spokesman for NYC Health + Hospitals .

A spokesman for the New York Presbyterian said it had seen a slow but steady increase in the number of COVID-related cases in the past week, but that “all of our hospitals continue to operate normally.”

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