12 Aug 2020
Joint Public Hearing: COVID-19 and Hospitals
Legislative Chambers, County Office BuildingVirtual Public Hearing 244 Fair Street,, Kingston, NY, 12401
10:00 AM Archived Video
Joint – Senate Standing Committee on Health
Chair: Senator Gustavo Rivera
Senate Standing Committee on Investigations and Government Operations
Chair: Senator James Skoufis
Administrative Regulations Review Commission
Chair: Senator Simcha Felder
Assembly Standing Committee on Health
Chair: Assembly Member Richard N. Gottfried
Assembly Standing Committee on Oversight, Analysis & Investigation
Chair: Assembly Member John T. McDonald III
Administrative Regulations Review Commission
Chair: Assembly Member Dan Quart
Public Hearing: COVID-19 and Hospitals
Place: Online: https://www.nysenate.gov/events;https://www.nyassembly.gov/av/live/
Time: 10:00 A.M.
Contact: Carolyn Sheridan (518) 455-2872; Anthony Kergaravat (518) 455-4371
Media Contact: Senate Majority Press Office (518) 455-2415;
Assembly Press Office (518) 455-3888
ORAL TESTIMONY BY INVITATION ONLY
Subject: COVID-19 and Hospitals
Purpose: To review the impact of COVID-19 on New York State’s hospitals as well as how current state hospital policies impacted the approach to address the COVID-19 pandemic.
New York has been one of the hardest hit states in the country during the COVID-19 pandemic, both in infection and fatality rates. Hospitalizations related to COVID-19 in New York peaked in mid-April at almost 19,000 with over 5,200 people in intensive care units across the state. New York and its hospital system took a number of steps to begin preparing the State’s hospital system to handle the projected surge in hospital admissions related to COVID-19. Even with the extraordinary measures taken during the early days of the pandemic, many hospitals still found a need for additional personal protective equipment (PPE), ventilators, and other medical equipment needed to treat the disease and protect hospital staff due to the surge of cases they experienced. In addition, some hospitals experienced a lack of inpatient and intensive care unit beds during this time and the State had to utilize volunteers from across the country and unorthodox locations to ensure adequate space to continue to care for individuals.
This hearing will explore the effects of COVID-19 on New York’s hospital system and seeks to receive input from various stakeholders across the State relating to the availability and distribution of personal protective equipment (PPE), the adequacy of hospital infrastructure, financial strains on hospitals during the State of Emergency, the impact of current hospital policies and their approach to address the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the practices and procedures implemented by hospitals in response to COVID-19, including visitation and isolation policies. The hearing will seek to identify what steps can be taken to help prepare the hospital system as well as protect patients and staff in the case of potential future pandemics.
Persons invited to testify to the Committees at the above hearing should complete and return the enclosed reply form by Sunday August 9. It is important that the reply form be fully completed and returned so that persons may be notified of means by which to testify and/or in the event of emergency postponement or cancellation.
Oral testimony will be limited to 5 minutes’ duration. In preparing the order of witnesses, the Committees will attempt to accommodate individual requests to speak at particular times in view of special circumstances. These requests should be made on the attached reply form or communicated to Committee staff as early as possible.
Attendees and participants at any legislative public hearing should be aware that these proceedings are video recorded. Their likenesses may be included in any video coverage shown on television or the internet. In order to further publicize these hearings, please inform interested parties and organizations of the Committee’s interest in hearing testimony from all sources.
In order to meet the needs of those who may have a disability, the Legislature, in accordance with its policy of non-discrimination on the basis of disability, as well as the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), has made its facilities and services available to all individuals with disabilities. For individuals with disabilities, accommodations will be provided, upon reasonable request, to afford such individuals access and admission to the Legislature’s facilities and activities.
