From Senator Michael H. Ranzenhofer:
I hope that this message finds you and your family safe and healthy. As you may know, Governor Cuomo recently announced an Executive Order instructing local hospitals and healthcare providers to surrender ventilators in order to support patients in the New York City region.
Healthcare providers from our region are expressing their concerns about the impact this could have on our community’s ability to fight the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic moving forward.
Jody Lomeo, president and CEO of Kaleida Health, recently said in a statement, “Hoping for no surge here or a promise of reimbursement for ventilators in the future -- at time of great uncertainty -- would be irresponsible. I cannot jeopardize our workforce and the very patients that we are responsible to care for.”
In response to the concerns raised by local providers, I joined several of my colleagues in writing to the Governor requesting that he reconsider this Order.
I am hopeful the Governor and Department of Health will listen to medical providers, who are on the front lines fighting this pandemic, and work with other states who have a surplus of supplies, to acquire critical devices.
To be clear, there is a real and ongoing need for medical supplies in the New York City metro area, however, it should not come at the expense of other communities in the state. It has been well documented that in the days and weeks ahead cases are expected to peak in our region. Now is not the time to export critical medical devices.
