Elmhurst Hospital’s leadership answers community’s
pressing questions during COVID-19 virtual town hall
People wait in line to be tested for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) while wearing protective gear, outside Elmhurst Hospital Center on March 25. REUTERS/Stefan Jeremiah
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | APRIL 3-APRIL 9, 2020 3
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO
Queens Councilman Francisco
Moya hosted a COVID-
19 virtual town hall with
Elmhurst Hospital’s leadership
on Monday, March 30,
where they answered some
of the community’s pressing
questions and provided updates
on the hospital’s needs.
The town hall featured a
few words from Israel Rocha,
vice president of NYC Health +
Hospitals and CEO of Elmhurst
and Queens Hospitals, and a
presentation and Q&A with
Dr. Joseph Masci, chairman
of Elmhurst Hospital’s Department
of Global Health and a
specialist in general infectious
diseases and emergency
preparedness.
“A few years ago, Elmhurst
Hospital realized that we
actually were battling conditions,
diseases and pathogens
from all over the world, and
that disease does not respect
borders, it does not respect
barriers,” Rocha said.
Rocha added that Elmhurst
Hospital was one of the first
hospitals in the country to create
a Global Health program,
which is led by Dr. Masci.
Dr. Masci noted that
Elmhurst Hospital, which is
now the epicenter of the pandemic
in New York City, had
200 patients with COVID-19
as of Monday, March 30. “The
hospital is very, very full right
now,” he said.
He said that while they
have the equipment and staff
members they need, what they
really need is space. If people
want to donate nearby space or
equipment, they should get in
contact with Rocha or the hospital’s
administration.
The peak of COVID-19 will
see 30 to 40 percent more cases
than there currently are in the
city, according to Dr. Masci.
When asked why Queens
and Elmhurst Hospital have
been overrepresented in New
York City’s COVID-19 health
emergency, Dr. Masci said that
while they can’t know anything
until they have time to
study it, the rest of New York
City’s hospital system is now
seeing similar activity.
“That initial spike in
Queens is now being matched
throughout the city,” he said.
Dr. Masci delineated some
of what they’ve observed of
COVID-19.
According to Dr. Masci,
80 percent of people who are
infected have no symptoms
or have symptoms that aren’t
severe enough to require hospitalization,
but 20 percent do
require hospitalization. Five
percent of that total will need
intensive care.
Dr. Masci said that it’s uncommon
for people under 30
to develop serious symptoms,
according to cases around the
world and in the U.S.
The Department of Health
and Mental Hygiene strongly
recommends against testing
people with mild or no symptoms.
But an indicator that
individuals should go to the
hospital is when they experience
shortness of breath, Dr.
Masci said.
When it comes to masks,
Dr. Masci said that they won’t
necessarily do anything to
protect you if you’re not sick.
He stressed that washing your
hands more times than you
think you should and staying
home will minimize the risk of
getting the virus.
Personal protective equipment,
Dr. Masci said, should
be preserved for hospital and
medical employees. “We have
to protect people who work
in the hospitals, because if
we lose them, then we’ll have
a much bigger problem,” he
said.
He also offered a look at
what the future will bring.
He said it’s almost certain
there will be many additional
cases and deaths in the city
and country, as well as confusing
messages. They predict
there will be further restrictions
on travel in and outside
of the country, more hospital
crowding, and more hospital
supply issues.
“We don’t think we’ve seen
the peak of this yet. We think
it’s going to continue to get
worse for several more weeks,”
Dr. Masci said.
Moya, who was born at
Elmhurst Hospital and later
worked there, thanked all the
nurses, doctors, janitors and
hospital workers for “doing
God’s work.”
“We’ve been hit hard by
this, but we’re New Yorkers.
We’re resilient. We stick together.
We band together, and
if we do things right, we will
get through this,” Moya said.
“And I hope that tonight’s presentation
will calm a lot of the
fears and answer some of the
questions we had here today.”
For more information, visit
nyc.gov/coronavirus, and
to reach Councilman Moya,
email m21@council.nyc.gov.
To watch the full town hall,
visit Councilman Moya’s Facebook
page. A Spanish-translated
version will be uploaded to
YouTube.
/coronavirus
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