Testing their patience
City abruptly closes coronavirus testing centers, confusing locals
BY ROSE ADAMS
The mayor’s offi ce abruptly
closed most coronavirus testing
centers on March 20 — but
failed to notify many offi cials
and hospital workers, confusing
and frustrating locals.
“They didn’t give us any
detail,” said Eddie Mark, the
district manager of Community
Board 13, which services
Coney Island, Gravesend, and
Brighton Beach. “There’s nobody
that we know of that we
can call.”
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced
on March 20 that the
city would close all appointment
only coronavirus testing
facilities citywide, citing a
critical shortage of protective
gear for hospital staff. Hizzoner
clarifi ed two days later
that testing would continue at
tent facilities erected outside
public hospitals — but only for
patients in need of hospitalization.
The change in protocol
came only hours after two testing
sites opened their doors
at Coney Island Hospital and
the Ida G. Israel Community
Health Center. A third testing
site at Coney Island’s MCU
Park, which is still under construction,
Advanced Aortic Aneurysm Center
of the Vascular Institute of New York
Established in 1992
Extraordinary techniques by internationally
recognized vascular specialists...
Drs. Enrico Ascher, Anil Hingorani and Natalie Marks have introduced
D N
for the very fi rst time in New York City a minimally invasive tecnnique to repair
an abdominal aortic aneurysm via a tiny puncture in each groin under local anesthesia.
Patients may be discharged home the very same day and have supper with the family!
Aortic aneurysms than you think!
If you are 60 years of age or older you may benefi t
from a visit to a board certifi ed vascular specialist.
COURIER LIFE,10 MARCH 27-APRIL 2, 2020
will test overfl ow
emergency room patients from
Coney Island Hospital once it’s
completed, offi cials said.
Prior to the facilities’ closure,
residents had been told
they could make appointments
at the testing centers by calling
the New York City Health
and Hospitals hotline, where a
clinician would evaluate their
symptoms.
However, when residents
called the hotline on Saturday
— after the change in protocol
— clinicians told them that
they had never heard of either
testing site and did not listen to
their symptoms.
“I was on the phone for eight
hours over two days,” said Nicole,
a Midwood resident who
said she experienced fever and
coughing, and feared she could
infect her elderly mother who
suffers from cancer.
Nicole said she called the
hotline to make an appointment,
but after waiting for
45 minutes on hold, a prescreener
told her, “I’m sorry, I
don’t know why you’re calling
this number. We just give out
general information.”
The screener eventually
transferred Nicole to a doctor,
but the doctor did not listen to
Nicole’s symptoms and simply
told her to go to the hospital if
she “felt ill,” she said.
“She just repeated the same
mantra, like she was reading
from a script,” Nicole said.
Because many local offi cials
and even hospital staff did not
know that the testing sites had
closed, they redirected confused
callers back to the same
hotline to schedule an appointment.
As of Tuesday afternoon,
receptionists at Coney Island
Hospital were still telling callers
to call the hotline.
Nicole decided to visit a CityMD
instead, where she was
able to get tested for free with
her insurance.
“The fact that I was able
with such ease to go somewhere
else, that says to me that
their system is the one failing,”
said Nicole, who, as of Tuesday,
was still awaiting her test results.
Mark said that the state’s
ability to turn the Javits Center
in Manhattan into a testing
complex indicates that there
must be enough resources for a
similar center in Brooklyn.
“They’re setting that up,
but what about Brooklyn?” he
said.
The city has put stricter limits on who can recive a test for the novel
coronavirus. Photo by Todd Maisel
Enrico Ascher, MD
Natalie Marks,ELEANORA IADGAROVA,Anil Hingorani, MD
Advanced Aortic Aneurysm Center
of the Vascular Institute of New York
Established in 1992
Extraordinary techniques by internationally
recognized vascular specialists...
Drs. Enrico Ascher, Anil Hingorani and Natalie Marks have introduced
for the very fi rst time in New York City a minimally invasive tecnnique to repair
an abdominal aortic aneurysm via a tiny puncture in each groin under local anesthesia.
Patients may be discharged home the very same day and have supper with the family!
Aortic aneurysms are more common than you think!
They are known to be “silent killers”.
They are known silent killers”.
If you are 60 years of age or older you may benefi t
from a visit to a board certifi ed vascular specialist.
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www.VascularNYC.com
www.VascularNYC.com
ELEANORA IADGAROVA, NP
Enrico Ascher, MD
Anil MD
Natalie Marks, MD
/www.VascularNYC.com
/www.VascularNYC.com
/www.VascularNYC.com
/www.VascularNYC.com
