Health & Fitness
Hospital Ship Comfort To Relax Screening Protocols, Officials Say
The 1,000 bed hospital ship will now screen patients at its Manhattan pier following reports that it was treating just 20 people.
NEW YORK, NY — A 1,000 bed hospital ship that arrived in New York City this week will relax its patient screening protocols following reports that the facility was treating just 20 people, federal Department of Defense officials announced Friday.
The USNS Comfort will remain a non-coronavirus facility, but patients will no longer require a negative test for the virus to be admitted onboard, defense officials announced. Instead, patients will be screened for temperature and be given a short questionnaire at the ship's pier, officials said.
"This assistance will further unburden the local hospital and ambulance systems in these areas, allowing them to focus on the more serious COVID-19 cases. We will immediately implement this action and work with local officials in each area on the details of patient arrival," a Department of Defense statement reads.
Find out what's happening in Midtown-Hell's Kitchenfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
To keep up to date with coronavirus developments in NYC, sign up for Patch's news alerts and newsletter.
A New York Times report published Thursday revealed that only 20 patients had been transferred to the hospital ship from New York City hospitals since the Comfort pulled up the Hudson River on Monday. Strict protocols limited the number of patients the Comfort could take in from city hospitals, according to the Times report. Guidelines sent by the Navy to city hospitals listed as many as 49 conditions the Comfort would not treat.
Federal officials also recently modified the use of the emergency medical facility set up at Manhattan's Javits Center. Officials approved a request made by New York to treat coronavirus patients at the 2,500-bed federal medical center at the Javits Center on Thursday, President Donald Trump and Cuomo said. The facility will be entirely staffed and operated by United States Army personnel, Trump said during his daily press briefing.
Find out what's happening in Midtown-Hell's Kitchenfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Coronavirus In NYC: What's Happened And What You Need To Know
Contact PatchNYC@patch.com to reach a Patch reporter and share your coronavirus story. All messages are confidential.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
