4
BROOKLYN WEEKLY, APRIL 5, 2020
MASKS
mask becomes ill-fi tting,”
said one worker. “This is
really not the appropriate
setting for us to work in.”
Coney Island Hospital
is currently treating
about 210 patients who either
have COVID-19 or are
highly suspected to have it,
an inside source said, taking
up a signifi cant portion
of the hospital’s 371 beds.
As of March 30, coronavirus
patients occupied 2.5 of
the hospital’s four units —
and insiders suspect that
the hospital is nearing capacity.
“It’s defi nitely getting
there,” said an employee in
emergency services. “It is
defi nitely more than we’re
used to seeing.”
To treat the infl ux of patients,
nurses who are typically
assigned to a maximum
of six people are now
treating between 10 and
15, increasing the chances
that they catch the disease
or transmit it to another
patient.
The shortage of face
masks and total lack of shoe
covers and face shields also
increase employees’ risk.
So far, several have called
out ill or have come to work
while suffering symptoms.
“I’ve seen on our schedule
that people are sick
and it says, ‘COVID,'” said
a medical provider in the
ER. “People come in not
feeling well, but they have
to work.”
Last week, a local pharmacy
and a Chinese-American
organization donated
around 1,500 masks to the
hospital combined. Now,
staffers are wondering
where their donations have
gone.
A spokeswoman for the
hospital said that the hospital
makes use of all donated
equipment, but can
only use certain types of
Personal Protective Equipment
to treat COVID-19 according
to safety protocols,
limiting what gets distributed
to workers.
And while she did not
deny that employees receive
one mask every fi ve days,
she said that the hospital
is following city and state
guidelines and claimed
there’s enough protective
gear for everyone.
“Like all health systems
across the country, we have
Personal Protective Equipment
conservation efforts
in place to ensure we continue
to have the supplies
our staff need,” said Rosanne
Mottola. “Any staff
member who needs PPE
can get it.”
Mottola added that the
hospital was not near capacity
and said the the hospital
has an “adequate supply”
of ventilators.
Coney Island Hospital
is one of many medical
centers lacking gear,
space, and employees as
COVID-19 continues to
spread. One Dyker Heights
resident said her cousin
working at Brookdale Hospital
in Brownsville gets
almost no PPE.
“They don’t have any
masks; they don’t have
any gowns. If they do have
masks, they have to use
them for a week,” said Daniella
Romano.
Romano’s cousin must
also continue to work, despite
having coronavirus
symptoms, she said.
“She’s been home sick
for three days, and possibly
has the virus, and she’s
expected to go back tomorrow
if she doesn’t have a
fever,” Romano said. “The
other day they gave her
fi ve known COVID patients
and they didn’t tell
her anything. Afterwards
they told her, ‘Oh yeah,
they tested positive for
COVID.’”
Staff at Coney Island Hopsital are operating with a dengerously short supply of medical masks. Photo by Paul Martinka
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