Perhaps it would be helpful to centralize reports from various NYC hospitals to be able to get a better overall picture.
Please include a date with every story
Reported April 1 :
This is Dr Ellie Bennett coming to you again from from Queens.
I spent 24 of the last 36 in my ER.
It's an absolute nightmare.
I personally intubated 3 patients in just under an hour.
We have over 400 patients admitted with coronavirus- 82 of them on ventilators.
To put things in perspective, My ER which is built to have about 80-100 patients, had 172 people ADMITTED with covid 19- crammed into spots, corners and crevices. And all of our ICU and step-down units together can usually handle 50 patients. We are managing ventilators in hallways.
In 22 years of medicine, I've never seen the staff look this tired- physically and emotionally drained. At least twice an hour we hear the call overhead that somebody upstairs is in cardiac arrest. This acutely exacerbates our distress. People that we were caring for are dead 12 hours later.
30 year olds. 50 year olds. 70 year olds. Nobody is spared.
We are at the breaking point .
We are out of space in our hospital.
We are out of space in our emergency room.
I was caring for a woman with an oxygen level at 64% and I had to have her sitting in a chair for an hour until I could find a stretcher.
Multiple doctors in the hospital are out sick with the virus.
I'm caring for patients in their homes and as long as their oxygen level is above 90% I'm trying to keep them from going to the hospital.
The community has been sending love , food and supplies. It is a sight to behold and it does lift our spirits.
But we need more. I'm still asked daily about people wanting to leave town for the holidays. I'm still asked daily if parents can come for pesach to be with their children.
I'm begging you please try and understand the gravity of the situation.
Please stay home for the holiday.
Please do not travel.
For the love of everything holy, please stop going to secret minyamin.
Continue the prayers- don't stop for one second!!
But do it from home.
Do it with your children.
Have us in mind.
We need it.
We all need it.
Edward (Ellie) Bennett, MD
