April 28: SUNY Upstate nurses arrive to Stony Brook
April 14: SUNY Upstate nurses, respiratory therapists, pharmacists and pharmacy technicians arrive to Stony Brook
April 10: SUNY Upstate nurses arrive to Stony Brook
A group of more than 50 caregivers from SUNY Upstate Medical University has come to Stony Brook Medicine to help treat patients associated with the coronavirus pandemic.
A total of 13 nurses started working on Friday, April 28, and will help with staffing of 300 additional hospital beds, including 180 additional ICU beds, that have been set up at SBUH to treat coronavirus patients. And another 21 nurses arrived on Friday, April 10, and 23 nurses, respiratory therapists, pharmacists and pharmacy technicians arrived on Tuesday, April 14.
“We are so grateful for the assistance from our sibling hospital in the State University of New York (SUNY) system,” said Michael Bernstein, PhD, Interim President of Stony Brook University. “This generous and compassionate act demonstrates the true strength of our state system in responding to the call to help residents throughout New York State.”
Three hospital systems are in the SUNY system: Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, Downstate Health Sciences University in Brooklyn and Stony Brook Medicine.
Currently SBUH is treating more than 300 patients who have tested positive for the virus. As of April 5, more than 775 inpatients and outpatients had been successfully treated and discharged from SBUH since the pandemic began. Long Island has been identified as a “hotspot” for the pandemic by New York State Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, as the growth in the total volume of positive patients has shifted from New York City to Long Island.
“These dedicated caregivers have responded to the call for assistance where help is needed most,” said Kenneth Kaushansky, MD, Senior Vice President, Health Sciences, and Dean, Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University. “This approach is critical to our success in fighting the pandemic across New York State as the caseload shifts and patient volumes crest across other regions.”
“Healthcare has always been about teamwork, but never more than now,” said Carol Gomes, MS, FACHE, CPHQ, Chief Executive Officer for SBUH. “We are privileged to work alongside our friends from Upstate, knowing that we are all in this together and will only be successful by working as a unified team to overcome this global pandemic.”
“I am honored to be a part of the team heading to Stony Brook,” said Emery House, MSN, RN, CMSRN, CCRN, Clinical Leader, Adult Critical Care Support, at SUNY Upstate Medical University. “Today's circumstances, especially downstate, are very trying on medical staff. We are more than happy to help, however needed, in an effort to aid both patients and employees.
“This team will bring experience in emergency medicine as well as critical care to best suit the needs of the COVID-19 influx,” she said. “It's wonderful to be able to help, and we will return even better prepared to care for the patients in our community.”
“We welcome these dedicated nurses and respiratory therapists to the Stony Brook Medicine team,” said Carolyn Santora, MS, RN, NEA-BC, CSHA, CPHQ, Chief of Regulatory Affairs and Interim Chief Nursing Officer for Stony Brook University Hospital. “We are so thankful for their assistance. We have already treated more than 1,000 coronavirus patients. Together we are not only Stony Brook Strong, we are SUNY Strong.”
