REMARKS
Council Member Narcisse expresses concerns over hospital closures and calls for comprehensive planning
1:32:34
·
115 sec
Council Member Mercedes Narcisse expresses concerns about hospital closures in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and calls for comprehensive planning and community engagement. Dr. Michelle Morse briefly responds about a published study on the pandemic's impact on hospital capacity.
- Narcisse emphasizes the need to consider COVID-19's impact on hospital capacity before closing any hospitals.
- She calls for community engagement, involvement of healthcare providers, and understanding of cultural impacts in the decision-making process.
- Narcisse requests the health department representatives to stay longer to hear from senators affected by the hospital closures.
Mercedes Narcisse
1:32:34
I know we have to run, but I have some question I wanna ask.
1:32:38
Giving the severe strength of COVID, right?
1:32:41
19, please, on our health care system, particularly in terms of hospital capacity.
1:32:48
Shouldn't we take that in consideration before we close.
1:32:52
I know you is the state.
1:32:53
Shouldn't we take that in consideration before we close any hospital?
Dr. Michelle Morse
1:32:59
I I can't comment on the state's process for how they what information they use to decide or to analyze and consider a hospital closure and whether or not it would be approved.
1:33:11
But I can say that we have published.
1:33:13
The New York City Health Department did publish a study that is open access and freely accessible to the public that describes the impacts of the surge in patients during the first wave of the COVID pandemic that also has our analysis and recommendations around that issue.
Mercedes Narcisse
1:33:34
Alright.
1:33:34
And call for action, I will think.
1:33:37
If I hope you can stay a little bit because I have to call the senators.
1:33:42
It has to be a comprehensive planning.
1:33:44
It has to be community engagement because they're gonna be affected.
1:33:48
It has to be the folks that working in the hospital, the healthcare providers, the doctors, the nurses knowing the impact, and the people that they've been seeing understand the culture for so many decades.
1:34:00
So I'm saying, like, you have the voice where you're sitting.
1:34:04
So we're gonna have to come with a comprehensive planning for the for New York City, if anything.
1:34:10
So I hope you can step aside.
1:34:13
If I hope we can come back but I'm not gonna force you to do so because we're not gonna do that.
1:34:18
But if you can if you can kindly have a little minutes you can spend with us, I would appreciate it because the senator that affected by the same hospital we're talking about will be coming.
1:34:28
So thank you so much for your time.
1:34:30
And counsel oh.
