Are Long Island hospitals ready for the peak of COVID-19 patients?

With Long Island quickly becoming a coronavirus hotspot, and the peak of cases approaching, how prepared are area hospitals?
Dr. David Battinelli with Northwell Health says the next few weeks will be the ultimate test in the battle against the coronavirus.
Northwell is nearly at capacity, currently treating around 3,000 patients, with 700 in the ICU.
"We have critical needs of staff. We're doing well on equipment but if this continues at this pace, even our supply chains will be stressed," says Battinelli.
The most important piece of equipment for hospitals is a ventilator. Dr. Aaron Glatt at Mount Sinai South Nassau in Oceanside says his team needs around 50 more before the surge hits.
"We've been trying our best to get more ventilators, doing all sorts of manipulations with current machines," says Glatt. "We're doing work on some machines to make them into ventilators."
To take on any additional surge in patients, field hospitals are being constructed at SUNY Old Westbury and Stony Brook University, each with an expected capacity of around 500 people.
Meanwhile, dozens of patients in the Northwell Health system have been moved from Queens to Long Island to free up space. Experts say we'll soon know if our hospitals will reach their breaking point.
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