The hospital at CSI is on hold link link
4/10 Politico article Politico (via silive.com):
PLANNED COLLEGE OF STATEN ISLAND HOSPITAL TO DROP SIZE — Staten Island Advance’s Sydney Kashiwagi: “A field hospital planned at the College of Staten Island set to hold at least 1,000 beds may be dropping down in size to 150 beds as the state has halted construction on the site for at least 48 hours, the Advance has learned. … The source with knowledge of the Army Corps of Engineers’ plan, told the Advance construction of the CSI site is being halted because the state thinks the additional beds on the Island might not be needed anymore based on its latest hospitalization projections.”
4/8 Advance article Hospital size unclear
But it is still unclear when the 1,030-bed College of Staten Island field hospital will open its doors.
Minority Leader Charles Schumer’s office told the Advance Friday that the CSI field hospital would take at least three weeks to be fully built out.
But the governor’s office could not confirm on Monday whether the CSI site would open in three weeks.
Instead, the governor’s office directed inquiries about the site’s opening date to the Army Corps of Engineers, which will build the CSI site.
However, the Corps has declined to provide an opening date to the Advance, saying it is only in charge of design, engineering and construction support and any decision on an opening date is up to the state.
Rep. Max Rose, who helped spearhead the opening of the CSI hospital, has also been unable to provide any details about South Beach Psychiatric Center or CSI sites. He deployed to the National Guard on April 1 and will work at one of the Island’s new hospitals.
The CSI field hospital was initially supposed to have 1,000 hospital beds, but the Army Corps of Engineers told the Advance Friday the facility would now contain 1,030 beds.
The Corps said last week it completed a preliminary design for a “150 bed alternate care facility” at CSI, which it hoped to award a contract to “soon.”
Asked last week when the state’s new downstate field hospitals would open, Cuomo could not provide a clear timeline either.
Instead, the governor said the additional field hospitals would open “when we need them,” describing them as the “last of the last resort” sites which you would still need equipment and staff.
Once both facilities are fully built out, Staten Island could have an extra 1,292 more hospital beds to respond to the coronavirus outbreak.
CSI field hospital grows to 1,030 beds, could open its doors in the next three weeks.
But the Corps said Friday, it completed a preliminary design for a “150 bed alternate care facility” at CSI, which it hoped to award a contract to “soon.” The Corps declined to provide any additional information about the site.
The Advance had sought answers about the CSI field hospital for more than a week since Rep. Max Rose announced that he, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the federal government were working together to build out the 1,000 field hospital because the Island’s two private hospitals were “rapidly approaching capacity.”
However, neither Rose, Cuomo nor the federal government was able to give any answers about the site until the Advance learned about the new details Friday.
Mayor Bill de Blasio said Friday he predicts 5,000 coronavirus patients in New York City will need to be in intensive care unit beds by early next week, as the city waits for suppli
Another field hospital at the College of Staten Island, will add 1,000 beds
However, details on when the college’s field hospital will open, who will staff it, and whether the site will treat coronavirus patients or non-coronavirus patients have yet to be answered.
NEW YORK, N.Y. – As the Island’s two private hospitals near capacity treating coronavirus patients around the clock, many of the details on when the borough’s two field hospitals will open remain unknown.
CSI asked all residents of the Dolphin Cove residence halls to vacate the buildings by March 26, as the campus is expected to be turned into a 1,000-bed field hospital to fight the coronavirus.
The federal government approved the plan to turn portions of the College of Staten Island’s Willowbrook campus into a field hospital and use more than 200 beds at South Beach Psychiatric Center for infected patients as the strategy to fight the deadly illness intensifies.
Two parts of the CSI campus – the Dolphin Cove dorms and the Recreational Center – are being eyed for the care facilities, according to communications from the school, the Advance/SILive.com previously reported.
The Army Corps of Engineers has been responsible for the transformation of civilian facilities into field hospitals, with support from the National Guard.