Coronavirus cases continue to rise as peak is expected in coming weeks
Dr. Ernest Patti, St. Barnabas Hospital Senior Attending Physician of Emergency Medicine, joins Yahoo Finance’s Alexis Christoforous and Brian Sozzi to break down what its like in a hospital amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Video Transcript
ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: I want to go inside a hospital now battling coronavirus with Dr. Ernest Patti. He is senior attending physician of Emergency Medicine at St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx, New York. Doctor, thanks for being with us. I know you're home right now, but you're going to be heading back to the hospital very shortly. Just give us a feel, paint a picture for us, what are you seeing on the ground there at St. Barnabas, and have the cases risen exponentially in the past few days?
ERNEST PATTI: Yes. Thank you for having me, Alexis. Yes, the cases have dramatically increased. Since last weekend, our volume of patients that we have on ventilators has increased dramatically. Our COVID positive patients is a very high number. The hospital has extended into other areas that we haven't been using-- ambulatory surgery areas, accessory units that we had had closed, we've opened them up, and we've been cohorting our COVID positive patients there to keep them away from the non COVID patients that we still have coming into the hospital.
Remember, we are a regional trauma center. So in addition to the patients who come in with respiratory illnesses, we still get the usual car accidents and other medical and surgical issues that, you know, people get sick from every day.
ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: I believe Brian is muted. Hey, Brian, if you want to just unmute, you can ask Dr. Patti.
BRIAN SOZZI: Here we go. One of the joys of working from home, team. But doctor, good to see you here. We've had some government officials suggest that New York City might be nearing some form of peak in the number of infections. From where you sit, is that realistic? Well, what I've been told is that we're going to hit our peak probably this week, next week, possibly the week after. We are already experiencing, you know, a dramatic increase, so I'm hoping that that comes soon.
From where I'm sitting, the volume doesn't seem like it's slowing down. It seems like it's increasing. We were fortunate that the state had sent us some extra ventilators which we've obviously been happy to have, and yeah, it looks like it's going to peak, but I'm not an expert in this particular aspect of virology and immunology. I'm hoping it peaks soon because we're really straining, I can tell you that.
ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: Doctor, you talk about getting more ventilators. That is certainly wonderful news. What about other equipment that you and your colleagues need to stay safe and to also deal with the people coming in? How has that been? Do you have the masks, the gowns, the shields that you need?
ERNEST PATTI: We have been fortunate in that our hospital administration has been able to acquire adequate PPE for our staff. But you know, remember Alexis, we use this stuff 24/7, 365. I don't know how long the supply is going to last for. We have been getting and procuring extra PPE. I have to tell you, the community has rallied tremendously for us. Father Devron and the Fordham Prep School, here in the Bronx, of which my son attends, donated safety goggles, safety masks, lab coats, as well as gloves. All the stuff from their chemistry labs, they've sent over to the hospital, in addition to supplying food for the staff during the day, which has been tremendous. A big morale booster, so it's been very helpful.
BRIAN SOZZI: Doctor, can you help decode what drives that peak?
ERNEST PATTI: I'm sorry. I missed the question.
BRIAN SOZZI: Yeah. Could you help explain just what would drive that peak in the number of infections? Is it just the access to more ventilators, better care, and people leave the hospital quicker?
ERNEST PATTI: Well, no. I think what's happening is that the virus had been affecting more folks, and hopefully, when people self isolate, and practice social distancing, the spread will decrease, but we're not experiencing that in the hospital because the volume of patients coming in who have respiratory complaints seems, from our perspective-- now, remember that's our perspective on the ground-- it seems like it's rising.
So what actually drives it, I honestly don't know. I assume it's the actual spread of the virus in the community, you know, and the number of people who are actually presenting to the hospital.
ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: All right. Dr. Ernest Patti of St. Barnabas Hospital, thanks for taking time out. I know you're very busy, and our thanks to you and your team for all you're doing there on the front lines, and please stay safe.
