Some UES Hospitals Near Capacity As Coronavirus Surges: Data

Upper East Side NY

16 December, 2020

11:28 AM

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UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Two hospital systems with branches on the Upper East Side are nearing their patient capacity amid a citywide growth in coronavirus cases that is bringing back memories of the city's springtime surge, according to new data. In the Mount Sinai Hospital system, 92 percent of intensive care unit beds were occupied last week, while 91 percent of ICU beds in the NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital system were also filled, according to data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Data for both systems include branches in other parts of the city. A Mount Sinai spokesperson said Wednesday afternoon that the percentages were not correct, but was not immediately able to provide any alternative data. A Presbyterian spokesperson said the hospital system is "seeing a higher volume of COVID patients," like others across the state. "NewYork-Presbyterian has been preparing for this possibility since the first wave," hospital spokesperson Alexandra Simpson said. "We have expanded ICU capacity and are redeploying resources as needed within the hospital and across the NewYork-Presbyterian system, and every patient is receiving the care they need." Between Dec. 4 and Dec. 10, 11 percent of all hospital beds in the city were occupied by COVID-19 patients, the data compiled by the University of Minnesota's COVID-19 Hospitalization Tracking Project shows. Hospitals over all five boroughs had 71 percent of their beds occupied, whether by COVID-19 patients or those with other maladies. Officials have stressed that rising hospital admissions should not discourage people from seeking medical care. Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently decreed that if data shows a region is three weeks from hitting 90 percent of hospital capacity, then it enters a "red zone" that closes all but essential businesses. "No region is at that point now," he said Monday, although he warned hospitalization trajectories across the state are trending upward. Wednesday afternoon, Health Commissioner Howard Zucker directed the state's hospitals to expand capacity to prepare for the surge, telling hospital administrators to anticipate a "difficult period" until the vaccine arrives. Correction: this article has been edited to remove system-wide hospitalization numbers which did not reflect the totals at any individual hospital. Matt Troutman contributed to this report.