The Coronavirus ‘War’: Army Docs Team Up With Newark Hospital

Eric Kiefer
Updated ·3 min read

NEWARK, NJ — War can be a beautiful thing when it’s against a virus, a Newark hospital CEO says.

On Wednesday, an 85-person medical team from the U.S. Army arrived at University Hospital to take part in an important mission: help the beleaguered medical center cope with staff shortages amid the coronavirus crisis.

The Department of Defense medical professionals – who are part of the United States Army’s Urban Augmentation Medical Task Forces – will assist and support the hospital’s own doctors and nurses, including critical care.

Altogether, the Army task force has the same capability of a 250-bed medical center, University Hospital administrators said.

“These soldiers are clinicians and staff who normally serve fellow service members’ medical needs, at home and abroad,” University Hospital President and CEO Shereef Elnahal said. “Now they’re joining our war against this virus, side by side with us.”

“It’s a beautiful thing, and a great morale boost for our staff,” Elnahal added.

The group assigned to University Hospital are one of 10 in the U.S. Army North that have been tasked with providing coronavirus relief at hospitals and other centers across the nation. Four task forces were dispatched to New York City, three to New Jersey, one to Connecticut, one to Massachusetts and one to Michigan.

University Hospital will be providing personal protective equipment to their newly arrived comrades in arms, administrators said.

“Our team is honored to support our fellow Americans during this time, and we are grateful for the opportunity to work alongside the outstanding medical professionals at University Hospital,” said U.S. Army Maj. Erin Velazquez, commander of the 332-1 Urban Augmentation Medical Task Force of the 332nd Medical Brigade.

Even before the coronavirus began to take root in New Jersey, University Hospital had been preparing for a “surge” of COVID-19 cases that some experts have predicted will overwhelm the area.

To build hospital capacity, the medical center prepared early by cancelling elective surgeries and procedures and rescheduling ambulatory well visits. The hospital redesigned new units and spaces to house COVID-19 patients, including setting up several tents outside the Emergency Department to triage and screen patients with respiratory symptoms.

“As of right now, we are greatly increasing our in-house COVID-19 numbers daily,” Mark Einstein, interim chief medical officer for University Hospital, recently said.

“We’re working around the clock and we are doing everything we can to save lives,” Einstein said.

READ MORE: NJ Coronavirus Updates (Here's What You Need To Know)

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This article originally appeared on the Newark Patch