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WPCNR NEWS & COMMENT. By John F. Bailey, April 4, 2020:

Last Monday all hospitals in New York State, we were told would act as one big hospital, sharing ventilators, opening their rooms, expanding bed capacities to corona virus and overflow non coronavirus victims in the New York coronavirus effort.

 It was understood that ventilators as needed would be sent to  them to the New York area hospitals that were in need of ventilators, with less crowded hospitals accepting overflow from New York metropolitan area hospitals. Medical personnel would also be shared.

The Governor and the head of the Greater New York Hospitals, said all hospitals had agreed to this. It took a great deal of anxiety off the minds of people. It inspired us. Now the critics start???

Now congress members, local leaders state representatives are complaining about the shifting of ventilators from the hospitals upstate and in all the counties upstate about possibly releasing their medical supplies, ventilators to hospitals severely stressed and without enough ventilators down here doctors, nurses, police, firemen, volunteers are catching the virus and dying.

Not every politician and business leader, I  guess can miss the opportunity to score political points with their constituents and play both ends against the middle, and look out for their political and business bottom line, by indignantly and clevery criticising decisions to say “Look how I care about you every day. You won’t have a hospital to take care of you if you share your equipment.”

That’s political hysteria without a solution, scaring people. It’s something to say when a microphone is stuck into your face.

It creates anxiety and distrust of the hardest working, most valiant people trying stop and cure this modern plague. The governor is asking just for you to be part of the effort and you will not be left without medical care in a hospital near you.

I thought we had an unprecedented united response to the medical needs of New Yorkers, last Monday. I hope it has not held up shipment of ventilators from upstate hospitals as a result of the “political outcry” that “our hospitals will not be ready for our constituents.” (In fact those reporters who cover the Governor’s daily briefings might ask this question.)

I and 19 million New Yorkers thought we had a deal last Monday.

I was proud the governor and the Associated New York Hospital Association had in one day exerted and got the cooperation of hospitals throughout the state to organize to protect all New Yorkers.

Apparently not.

Please.

Are the upstate politicans, leaders and any irresponsible hospital leaders whose hospitals are down in patients and emergencies anyhow according to state information, now unwilling to share equipment and supplies and most importantly ventilators now?

Why? What has changed in a week?

Refusing to cooperate now is dooming more to die in New York City.

Objecting to sharing equipment, or holding back releasing it is just as bad as the U.S. Congress short-changing New Yorkers in Coronavirus relief, giving New York 1.9% of their budget in aid, and limiting that to coronavirus expenses at that, when other states with far lower budgets than New York State. That bill was bad for New York State and was crafted that way and  most Republicans particularly loved that because they hate us.

Now those complaining politicians up there whether elected or hospital-sourced (I can’t believe any hospital leader would object to sharing and aiding people they want to save), you are doing a very self-centered, self-promoting thing by complaining.

The hospitals are not doing a good business because of the statewide stay at home rule, the ban on elective surgery.

The New York area needs you now and your equipment.

The State of Oregon is sending 140 ventilators coming to New Yorkers aid.

The Governor has promised your hospitals  you will get the ventilators back. 

60,000 volunteers in state and 20,000 coming from out of state are working now and getting coronavirus and dying helping in New York, shoulder to shoulder with New York doctors. They stepped up.

But that is one thing politIcians, cannot do.

They can’t step up.

They can only pile on.

Another politician technique is to claim subltely credit for an act that was going to happen anyway, glomming onto someone else’s courageous decision. That’s happening a lot these days from the Oval Office to many state and washington representatives. See through these phonies, people.

When they lead local people with the cry that their health care will be affected by their hospitals sharing equipment, PPE’s, ventilators and personnel — when the personnel will be covered by qualified medical volunteers, then these critics of the Governor’s plan and  Cornavirus Command Center (far more in touch than the federal government grasp of the national situation)  are beyond irresponsible.

In the words of Mayor Thomas Roach of White Plains,

“STOP IT.”