Mayor Adams showers city hospital systems with money and sole responsibility to handle the migrant crisis

THE CITY 

Mayor Eric Adams has handed to the city’s public hospital system control of emergency relief operations for asylum seekers, an internal city memo reveals — bypassing standard oversight procedures for government contracts while spending nearly $100 million on hotel rooms.

An Oct. 13, 2022, memorandum of understanding between City Hall and the New York City Health + Hospitals Corporation — posted to the nyc.gov website in response to THE CITY’s inquiries — details procedures for what Adams calls Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Centers, or HERRCs.

“H+H shall be responsible for the management and operation of the HERRCs,” the memo states. For its part, City Hall committed to reimburse H+H for the costs of building and operating the centers, which also include the now-dismantled barracks-style shelter at Randall’s Island and a space at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal in Red Hook.

It is signed on behalf of H+H by Dr. Ted Long, a senior vice president who heads the city’s COVID testing and treatment operation. Signing on behalf of the mayor was Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Anne Williams-Isom.

Health + Hospitals board meeting materials show that H+H President and CEO Mitchell Katz last fall authorized more than $92 million in spending on Manhattan hotels through spring 2023: $40 million for ROW nyc, $20 million for the Watson, $28 million for the Stewart and $5.8 million for the Wolcott.

H+H is also paying to use a Holiday Inn in Lower Manhattan, as revealed in the ongoing bankruptcy case of the hotel’s operator. That HERRC opened earlier this month.

Huron Consulting Services, LLC — a firm that was also involved in H+H’s COVID testing operations — is getting up to $18.5 million to help open the migrant housing sites. Rapid Reliable Testing, LLC, got approved for an $11.5 million contract for medical triage.

Meet the new mandates, same as the old mandates

Chaos Erupts when Eric Adams comes out of his office. Protesters against mandates confront and yell at him because of the mandates #BreakingNews #NYC #MANDATE pic.twitter.com/46slZjie8y

— Leeroy Johnson (@LeeroyPress) November 3, 2021

 

 Eyewitness News

 Mayor-elect Eric Adams held COVID news conference unveiling his plans to combat COVID in New York City as he prepares to take office this weekend.

He was joined by current Health Commissioner Dr. Dave Chokshi and incoming Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan.

Adams said the plan is to, "Keep our city open. That's the goal. We can't shut down our city again."

As for existing mandates regarding vaccines and masks, they will stay in place with a few changes and adjustments.

The private-sector employee vaccine mandate will stay in place with a focus on compliance, not punishment. A dedicated unit will work with small businesses, stakeholders, and the mayor's corporate engagement committee to help implement the mandate, foregoing fines if employers engage with the city to help get their workers vaccinated.

The city will study the need for an "up to date" mandate program to require booster shots for all New Yorkers currently covered by the vaccine mandates and engage with unions, the business community, and other shareholders. The data shows that booster shots are extremely effective against Delta and earlier COVID strains, but the city says it does not yet have definitive data on omicron.

The city will set a deadline of this spring for a decision on whether or not there should be a vaccine mandate in schools for the fall of 2022. The decision will be based on expected COVID risk in city schools and vaccination rates among students.

All other current mandates stay in place, including for masks.

"We are going to get through this," Adams said. "New York will lead the way for this entire country to follow."

As for New York City Schools, they will fully reopen on January 3, and they will implement the Stay Safe, Stay Open plan.

It includes doubling surveillance testing and adjusting the Situation Room and quarantine protocols. Sending home millions of rapid at-home tests for students and educators.
They will also strengthen mitigation measures including higher quality masks and better ventilation.

 Incoming-Mayor Adams says they will surge resources to the Health + Hospitals system to ensure enough capacity to address new hospitalizations from omicron. Ambulatory care will be shifted to virtual when possible to shore up nurse staffing levels and other measures.

He also plans to improve safety in congregate settings like jails, shelters, and nursing homes at high risk by supporting rapid isolation and quarantine. They will also provide ready access to vaccination and testing.

As far as COVID testing efforts for the city, the Adams administration plans to increase testing with more sites and mass-access to rapid tests.

The city says it will provide clear testing protocols for specific settings, including in the private sector.

The city will also surge resources to the Health Department, including more than 250 staff, to keep the public health infrastructure strong and at adequate capacity.

The Blaz gives ultimatum to health workers

 

AMNY

Starting next month, Mayor Bill de Blasio officially announced Wednesday, all New York City health care employees will be required to get the COVID-19 vaccine or face mandatory weekly testing — and even possible suspension from their job.

The aggressive new COVID safety requirement begins on Monday, Aug. 2 and applies to all NYC Health and Hospitals staff and Department of Health clinical workers. Those who fail to follow the mandate will be subject to “suspension without pay,” the mayor said during his Wednesday morning press conference. 

For de Blasio, it comes down to one thing: halting the spread of the Delta variant, a far more contagious and potent version of COVID-19.

“This is about keeping people safe and stopping the Delta variant. If we want to beat COVID once and for all, we have to stop the Delta variant,” de Blasio said. 

According to City Health Commissioner Dr. Dave Chokshi, the mandate applies to “all of our clinic-based staff” which includes, nurses, doctors, social workers, custodians and registrars.

Employees who are vaccinated must show a proof of vaccination and that at any time, health care employees can decide they want to get the shot, and will no longer be required to get weekly testing. 

“The simple fact is that if you’re vaccinated, virtually every activity is safer,” Chokshi said. “Because of the Delta variant, increasingly, the choice is between infection or vaccination and that can mean the difference between life and death. Vaccination has been and continues to be the single most important precaution we can take to interact with the public and our colleagues.” 

He added that the plan for the weeks ahead is to extend this requirement to “additional Health Department staff” beyond the clinic staff.

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Give blood, get diabetes

 

NY Post 

  New York City’s blood supply is so low that the de Blasio administration is dangling prizes to donors — including a year’s worth of Krispy Kreme doughnuts.

Hizzoner pitched his answer to the blood crisis at a press briefing Tuesday — where it was revealed the city only has enough of a supply stocked up for about three days, as opposed to the usual seven days.

 And the Hospitals and City Health Commissioners don't utter a peep.

Waiting for COVID-19 free test results is the hardest part

THE CITY

A national surge in COVID cases has coincided with agonizing delays for New Yorkers getting tested at free sites run by the city’s public hospitals network.

Patients and staff at some NYC Health + Hospitals sites describe waits far longer than the advertised “three to five days” — a lag that increases risk of potentially exposing others to the deadly coronavirus.

Chelsea Williams-Diggs, 27, got tested at a mobile H+H unit in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, on July 6.

“I was told three days for results and have called twice to make sure there wasn’t an error,” she told THE CITY.

She says she was eventually told that results could take upwards of 10 days, but she was still waiting as of July 20.

One New Yorker who didn’t want his name used said he got tested at an H+H location in The Bronx on July 1 — but didn’t receive results on the system’s MyChart app until July 12.

He said he had quarantined nearly the entire time, but had to go to the grocery store when he ran out of food.

“I was hesitant to go, but needed supplies so I went because it had been so long,” the 31-year-old told THE CITY.

At an H+H testing site in Woodside, Queens, COVID-19 test results are now taking 10 to 14 days to come back, according to an employee who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

“If you’re at the 14-day mark, the test is invalid before you even get the result,” the employee noted. 

“Because assuming nobody is 100% quarantining in those 14 days before receiving the result, it’s highly likely for them to be exposed and become infected.”