NYC Hospitals Get Millions For Staffing Amid Omicron Wave: Adams

NEW YORK, NY — Hospitals around New York City will get millions in government funding to shore up their staffing levels and maintain care during the city's omicron wave, Mayor Eric Adams announced Wednesday.

He announced the three-point plan during a visit to Elmhurst Hospital, the Queens medical center that suffered an overwhelming surge in COVID-19 patients during the city's first wave in 2020.

The plan consists of $111 million in "immediate support" for the city's 11 public hospitals; $33 million in loans to the city's private "safety net" hospitals; and other funding to expand staffing at the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

Some of the $111 million allocation is coming from the federal government, Adams said, while the $33 million was lended by Goldman Sachs, the financial firm.

Adams voiced confidence about the city's ability to handle the virus, despite the alarming surge that saw more than 30,000 New Yorkers test positive on Monday.

"There’s only three words I can tell you: We got this, New York. We got this," he said Wednesday. "This is not 2020, this is 2022."

Adams's announcement came amid reports that staffing levels at some hospitals had dipped below the desired level, as more employees came down with COVID.

Dr. Mitchell Katz, who leads the Health + Hospitals system, told reporters that this past Sunday was the hardest day of the wave thus far, citing high cases and the difficulty of finding staff over the holiday weekend.

"The ratios for the number of patients to nurses were way in excess of what we want," Katz said. "By today, things are already way better because of additional staff."