At this time of thanksgiving, it is easy to lose sight of all we have to be thankful for. The coronavirus pandemic has changed so much in the world. It has changed our day-to-day experience and forever changed our lives in fundamental ways. No one has been untouched.
But one thing it has not changed is what I am grateful for. I am deeply grateful and honored to work alongside each of you as we join together to meet the needs of our patients during these unprecedented and turbulent times.
As the number of coronavirus cases increases across the county, state and nation, the watchwords for all of us must remain vigilance, preparedness and self-care. This means limiting social gatherings at home and at work in order to reduce the potential spread of this deadly virus. As members of the Stony Brook Medicine community, we must set an example for each other by adhering to public health and safety measures during this public health crisis.
Statewide, as of Monday, the positivity rate for new coronavirus cases has reached 3.3 percent of all those tested, as tracked on the New York State Department of Health website. Of the more than 1.3 million people tested in Suffolk County so far, more than 56,000 have tested positive, for a 4.2 percent positivity rate.
With the arrival of fall, Stony Brook Medicine is seeing a steady uptick in its numbers, consistent with state and national trends. On Sunday, Nov. 22, we had a total of 42 coronavirus patients at Stony Brook University Hospital, consisting of 34 positive cases and eight more patients under investigation. Just two weeks earlier, we had only 25 patients. The new cases we are seeing are often older patients with symptoms, compared to the younger asymptomatic patients we had been seeing in prior months.
Fortunately, Stony Brook is well positioned to respond to this growing second wave of COVID-19 cases. We learned many valuable lessons and gained valuable time between the first wave last spring and the second wave that is starting now.
Normally, Stony Brook University Hospital operates with 624 beds, including 71 adult ICU beds. At the peak of the pandemic last spring, we had more than 1,100 beds in service, including 182 ICU beds. Every medical specialty in the hospital redirected their efforts to either directly care for COVID-19 patients, consult on COVID-19 patients, or provide other COVID-19 support. We maintained a strict geographic admission scheme, which worked extremely well.
Now we are updating our surge plan, which allows us to increase total bed capacity for our four-hospital system by 100 percent over a 10-week period as needed. This is in addition to the temporary hospital set up on the Stony Brook University campus under the direction of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.
So far this fall, we have converted the 18 South nursing unit for coronavirus patients, with conversion of the 18 North unit underway. We continue to test all elective procedural patients for COVID-19 in advance to protect our patients and staff. And we have a 90-day supply of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) on hand to meet the potential surge in demand.
One of the biggest lessons learned from last spring is the importance of taking care of those who are taking care of our patients. The pandemic has been incredibly stressful in the heavy emotional and psychological toll it has taken on our staff, who worked tirelessly in caring for our patients, who often were critically ill for an extended period of time.
That’s why we created “Resilience at The Brook,” a new and permanent respite space for employees. Located on Level 5 near Human Resources, this room offers a restful place for staff to escape from the stresses of the day. It is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for all Stony Brook University Hospital physicians and staff to take a moment to relax, rejuvenate and refresh.
As hard as it is, taking a moment of respite to maintain our own well-being is crucial during these extraordinarily challenging times. We are all busy caring for our patients, but we all need to take time to support and care for one another. We are all in this together. And we can all get through this together.
I hope that you will take time during this season of thankfulness to express appreciation – for yourselves, for each other, for your families and for your loved ones. Please maintain appropriate social distancing with your co-workers and your loved ones, so we can all stay safe. Stay Stony Brook Strong.
Carol