IF YOU’RE to be used as military hospital
CARING FOR A
FAMILY MEMBER
WITH MEMORY LOSS,
WHO’S CARING
THE ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE
AND RELATED DEMENTIAS
FAMILY SUPPORT PROGRAM.
COURIER LIFE,6 MARCH 27-APRIL 2, 2020
ON RESERVE
Max Rose calls for Bay Ridge base
Congressman Max Rose want the Department of Defense to consider deploying a military
fi eld hospital at Fort Hamilton Army Base. Courtesy Wikimedia Commons
BY MEAGHAN MCGOLDRICK
One Brooklyn Congressman is
leaning on his military background
to push the feds to enlist the army
base in his district as a makeshift
hospital for civilians during the
COVID-19 outbreak.
In a letter dated March 23, Congressman
Max Rose pleaded with
Secretary of Defense Mark Esper to
consider southern Brooklyn’s Fort
Hamilton Army Base when deploying
military fi eld hospitals to help
address the surge in hospital visits
stemming from the novel coronavirus.
Esper announced early Monday
that, while the military “can’t meet
everybody’s needs” as things escalate,
the Department of Defense is
prepared to deploy military fi eld hospitals
in areas like New York and Seattle
to aid in combating the virus’
spread.
Rose, who served in the United
States Army as a platoon leader in
the Afghanistan War, maintains that
having a military outpost in New
York City is essential, as it has become
an epicenter of the coronavirus
pandemic.
“We’re waging war on the coronavirus
and here in New York City we
desperately need reinforcements,”
Rose said in a statement. “We’ve already
seen decisive action by the city,
state, and federal government to drastically
increase our hospital bed capacity,
including to deploy the USNS
Comfort to New York City, but we
have so much more work to get head
of the impending surge in patients.”
In his letter to Esper, Rose called
Fort Hamilton an “ideal site for deployment
of a medical fi eld hospital,”
citing easy accessibility.
“Based at Fort Hamilton, the fi eld
hospital will be able to access the
outer boroughs of New York City that
have relatively fewer medical options
than more central boroughs,” the letter
reads. “For instance, Staten Island
directly across the river from
Fort Hamilton has only three hospitals
and has become a target towards
which the National Guard and State
have surged resources. More widely,
the Belt Parkway directly outside
Fort Hamilton offers easy access to
the rest of New York City and the
wider region.”
Named after founding father Alexander
Hamilton, the Brooklyn army
base is located at the tip of Bay Ridge,
not far from Staten Island. It hosted
Federal Emergency Management
Agency services and other resources
in the wake of Superstorm Sandy and
was designated a historical landmark
in the National Registry in 1971.
During the War of 1812, the base
saved the city from attack by keeping
a British fl eet at bay, according to the
Star Revue.
Rose’s call comes as lawmakers
across the borough and the city suggest
sites to increase hospital capacity.
As of Monday afternoon, New
York City has 12,339 confi rmed diagnoses
of COVID-19.
FOR YOU?
Caring for a family member who has trouble with thinking
and memory can be extremely challenging. So challenging,
in fact, that caregivers may feel overwhelmed, struggling
to maintain their own health and well-being.
NYU Langone’s Family Support Program provides
convenient, personalized, and ongoing support to people
caring for someone with Alzheimer’s or other thinking and
memory disorders.
The program is provided free of charge to individuals
living within the five boroughs. You will receive access to
counseling; connections to doctors and support groups;
and compassionate guidance by being paired with a
caregiver who has had a similar experience.
Join a community dedicated to providing the support and
guidance you need, for as long as you need it.
For more information or to enroll, call us at 646-754-2277
or visit nyulangone.org/memorydisordersupport.
The Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias Family Support Program
is supported by a grant from the New York State Department of Health.
/memorydisordersupport
