Updated: New York State’s Department of Health is seeking to expand the number of medical professionals available to respond to the growing number of coronavirus patients.
It is asking qualified retired and other professionals who are interested in responding to the epidemic to complete this survey.
It also has asked medical educators to help finding back up assistance and the help of qualified medical professionals in another survey.
The state Health Department said residents can make appointments for tests; no location for the mobile-unit tests has been identified yet. Suffolk County residents who want to make an appointment for the test can call now and will be triaged by a nurse or a healthcare professional. Residents can make appointments here: 1-888-364-3065.
The search for more help comes as Gov. Cuomo and medical experts warn of an expected surge in patients and a shortage of professionals and equipment.
“We have 53,000 hospital beds in the State of New York. We have 3,000 ICU beds. Right now the hospitalization rate is running between 15 and 19 percent from our sample of the tests we take,” Cuomo said. “We have 19.5 million people in the State of New York. The expected peak is around 45 days. They are expecting as many as 55,000 to 110,000 hospital beds will be needed at that point. You take the 55,000 to 110,000 hospital beds and compare it to a capacity of 53,000 beds and you understand the challenge.”