SCREENING FOR HELP
Fort Greene Hospital unveils coronavirus pre-screening tent
BY KEVIN DUGGAN
As doctors prepare to treat
a coming wave of coronavirus
patients, the Brooklyn Hospital
Center in Fort Greene will begin
pre-screening potentially
infected patients with basic
thermometers and other tools
at a new outdoor tent — which
will reduce the hospitalized
population and ease the load on
the healthcare system, said Borough
President Eric Adams.
“We must fi nd innovative
ways to allocate resources and
fl atten the curve,” said Adams
in a statement. “The Brooklyn
Hospital Center’s new prescreening
tent will alleviate
the burden on their emergency
room, and allow those with the
greatest level of need to receive
the proper care.”
When the make-shift facility
begins operations in front
of the hospital’s Ashland Place
emergency room on March 18,
Brooklynites exhibiting symptoms
COURIER L 24 IFE, MARCH 20-26, 2020
can receive a quick examination
— and those showing severe
symptoms, such as trouble
breathing, will be diverted to
the emergency room. Patients
will also be asked about their
medical histories, and doctors
may send those with pre-existing
conditions to the emergency
room, even if they show mild or
no symptoms.
Patients at the new facility
will be billed as if it were any
other hospital screening.
The move comes as medical
facilities around the city are
dealing with a surge in hospital
visits related to the coronavirus
— including the Brooklyn
Hospital Center, which has already
treated three people with
the infection.
As of March 16, the fi ve boroughs
have seen 644 confi rmed
cases of the virus, which has a
19 percent hospitalization rate,
according to Adams’s offi ce.
Governor Andrew Cuomo
on March 15 pleaded with President
Donald Trump for federal
assistance, saying the state was
currently unable to “slow the
spread of the disease to a rate
that our state health care systems
can handle.”
The Fort Greene hospital’s
president, however, said the facility’s
staff were working tirelessly
to combat the virus.
“We are working around
the clock, and our excellent
doctors, nurses, and other providers
are diligently keeping
up to date with best-practice
guidelines, and coming up with
solutions, such as this tent for
pre-screening,” said Gary Terrinoni.
“Together we will get
through this.”
The make-shift outdoor facilit will be used to pre-screen potentially infected patients. Photo by Kevin Duggan
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