More Patients, Fewer Workers: Omicron Pushes New York Hospitals to Brink
The New York Times
The current spike in coronavirus cases appears to be less deadly than earlier waves, but some safety-net hospitals are still being severely strained.
At Interfaith Medical Center in Brooklyn, the intensive care unit is full, mainly with Covid patients. In a scene reminiscent of spring 2020, patient beds have been set up in the hallway.
But on Wednesday, when Interfaith asked city officials to divert ambulances to other hospitals, the request was granted for only two hours, the hospital’s top executive said. Emergency rooms at neighboring hospitals were also overflowing, or precariously understaffed.
“All hospitals, not just safety net hospitals, in Brooklyn and in other boroughs are stressed,” the executive, LaRay Brown, said. Ms. Brown is the chief executive at One Brooklyn Health, which runs Interfaith and nearby Brookdale Hospital.
