We all know that the County Executive has said that keeping our healthcare workers safe keeps all County residents safe as they put their lives on the line to treat patients during the coronavirus pandemic. He also said, “I am proud of these efforts by the Westchester County Office of Tourism & Film and the Westchester Hotel Association to support those on the front lines.”
While it’s great to have housing for these workers provided for at area hotels, an alarming trend has developed. While the County is supplying housing for medical staff, they are also housing just-released homeless patients confirmed positive with Covid19! In fact, an entire wing of the Days Inn Hotel on Valley Avenue has been designated for only those just released. One nurse staying there was in disbelief when she learned of this.
The Village of Elmsford’s all-volunteer Fire Department operates the ambulance service for the Village. While standard precautions are always taken when dealing with infectious patients, it’s unfair to subject these valued first responders to the unnecessarily dangerous situation such as this. While everyone is entitled assistance when needed, the County should be contracting and staffing an ambulance service that can be used specifically for these patients.
Next, the County should remove all healthcare workers from this and any other hotel being used for Covid19-positive patients. In fact, we’ve learned that some of the cleaning staff are reluctant to enter these rooms, which will increase the intensity of contamination and chance of exposure and spread to others.
The County has set up five huge tents that are being built with rooms inside. We presume it is for Covid19 infected patients but have been unable to confirm this. If the tents are completed, why aren’t they being put there? Surely not every tent is still under construction and is ready to be used.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment