16 trained health care workers from the New York City area arrived at Strong Hospital in Rochester Saturday to help with the rise in COVID hospitalizations there.
Governor Kathy Hochul ordered the workers from Northwell Health sent to Rochester. 32 hospitals are under state orders to halt elective surgeries amid a shortage of hospital beds and health care providers. Hochul said “I want to thank Northwell Health for answering the call to action and partnering with us to send a team of extraordinarily skilled nurses that will boost hospital capacity and help us bring the numbers down in Western New York.” Northwell, based in New Hyde Park, is the largest health care provider in the state.
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Meanwhile, Steuben County Public Health Director Darlene Smith told WETM-TV the county is “overwhelmed” by COVID cases, with eight new deaths. All but two of them were people ages 67-89. A mask or vaccine mandate takes effect today in all public spaces in New York.
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