Working this weekend in NYC, in a hospital that took a few dozen NYU transfers, I wonder what took them so long? Why wait for the water to pour in the basement to shut down the hospitals? (The Langone & Bellevue, the private & municipal hospitals, respectively)
By now, we've heard the stories of the bucket brigade carrying fuel to the rooftop generators at Bellevue, as well as neonates swaddled in blankets going down dark stairways. I don't have answers, but this is a scandal & needs to be investigated. As I undestand it, NYU emptied out prior to Irene last year, but was unscathed. Their administration decided to stay open for Sandy. Why? Hubris? Sloth? Fear of lost evenue? Why were so many patients left at risk?
The NYU staff has been dedicated, even visiting patients in their new hospitals to personally review history with their new docs & nurses. But what administrator had his head so far up his ass that he ignored the warnings?