Floating Hospital is Coming to New York to Help Fight Coronavirus
With the need for more hospital beds greatly anticipated a 1,000-bed floating hospital is making its way to New York.
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in New York is continuing to surge and there's no sign of the numbers slowing down. There are now over 2,000 Empire State residents being treated for the disease.
Many times, Gov. Andrew Cuomo has said the state must find a way to create 55,000-110,000 hospital beds. New York must increase the current hospital capacity and identify new hospital beds. Some of the new hospital beds will come in the form of a floating hospital. The USNS Comfort, which has about 1,000 rooms is heading to New York.
Cuomo announced on Wednesday the USNS Comfort will be deployed to New York harbor and is expected to arrive in April. The 1,000-bed hospital ship has 12 fully-equipped operating rooms and will significantly increase New York's hospital surge capacity, officials say.
"We are fighting a war against this pandemic and we know that two of the most effective ways to stop it is by reducing density and increasing our hospital capacity so our healthcare system is not overwhelmed," Cuomo said. "The deployment of the USNS Comfort to New York is an extraordinary but necessary step to help ensure our state has the capacity to handle an influx of patients with COVID-19 and continue our efforts to contain the virus.
Cuomo is meeting with the leadership of the Army Corp of Engineers to discuss other ways to increase hospital capacity in New York.
Cuomo also said the state must find new health professionals as reserve staff. If you are a recently retired health professional and can help you can CLICK HERE for more information.