coronavirus new york city

Coronavirus News: Inside a Brooklyn hospital on the frontlines of the crisis

Monday, April 6, 2020

Inside a Brooklyn hospital on the frontlines of the crisis

We are getting an up-close look at what it is like on the front lines in Brooklyn as we head right into the heart of this storm approaching the apex any day now.

NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- We are getting an up-close look at what it is like on the front lines in Brooklyn as we head right into the heart of this storm approaching the apex any day now.

ABC News was inside Maimonides Medical Center where every single doctor and nurse is covered head to toe in personal protective equipment or PPE.

They presume almost all of the patients coming through their doors are COVID-19 positive.

Doctors say they've reached out to other hospitals taking in lessons from the Italians, the Chinese as well as those in Washington State as they try to get through this.

At Maimonides, they have 53 ventilators right now, 43 of them are in use and they are concerned about their needs as the week goes on.

Doctors say the schedule is relentless. ABC News spoke with one who came in from Utah to help.

She says this will impact the entire country and hopes she will be able to take what she learned here and use it elsewhere.

"With everything happening in New York, I had some time to be able to come out here and help, and I think Utah is probably just a few weeks behind, so it's nice to be able to see what's going on here," she said.

The hospital also has triage tents set up as they brace for the worst. Every patient goes to the tent and gets a preliminary diagnosis. That way they can keep people who are not infected away from the ER.

One of the doctors also expressed concern about going home at the end of the day to his wife and kids. He's concerned about infecting them.