Long Island hospitals prepare for Hurricane Henri

Long Island hospitals are ramping up in preparation for Hurricane Henri, implementing emergency weather plans, checking on homebound patients and preparing to increase staff where necessary.

Northwell Health has activated its Emergency Operations Center in Lake Success, and is implementing its hazardous weather plan, said Dr. John D’Angelo, chief of integrated operations.

Teams are monitoring the storm to see the location, timing and potential impact of the storm, he said. They are also monitoring the level of staff and ICU capacity.

D’Angelo said Northwell has enough staff, space and supplies to handle the storm.

Its hospitals have their own backup generators, he said, and the management team is reviewing where portable generators might be needed.

Northwell also has plans in place to put up doctors and staff in area hotels, if necessary, he said. They are also deciding what services, such as vaccination centers, should be closed, and where they should station ambulances.

D’Angelo said that the busy times tend to be before the storm, as people who are not feeling well come into facilities, and after the storm.

Mount Sinai, an eight-hospital system, said most of its hospital campuses are not in the direct path of the storm. But the flagship hospital, Mount Sinai South Nassau in Oceanside, is.

"All staff are encouraged to monitor the status of transportation throughout the region. We recommend using public transportation when possible, and allow extra time to get to work. Carry your hospital ID card in case any travel bans or restrictions are put in place," said a hospital memo to staff.

NYU Langone Hospital-Long Island in Mineola is fully prepared for Hurricane Henri, said hospital officials. The hospital system activated its hurricane plan earlier this week and all departments were completing preparations Saturday.

Additionally officials have been convening NYU Langone systemwide emergency management conferences several times daily to optimize preparedness.

NYU Langone Hospital-Long Island is fully staffed and supplied, officials said. The bed census is generally lower on the weekends, because most surgeries are performed during the week, so the system has increased capacity should it receive an influx of patients, officials said.

"We have also been accelerating discharges for those patients ready to return home, further increasing capacity. We have increased our on-hand supplies in advance of the storm," said a statement from the health system.

The system has activated staff "stay teams" — care teams who will arrive before the storm and be housed on-site so they can deliver uninterrupted care to patients.

Officials said they have emergency backup power throughout all patient floors.

Officials also said they hold multiple NYU Langone systemwide drills throughout the hurricane season each year.

"We completed a major annual systemwide exercise on July 29th (code-named "Hurricane Olympia") in which we validated all of our protocols including the hurricane plan. We are fully prepared and expect to be fully operational throughout Hurricane Henri," said the statement.

Catholic Health’s six hospitals and other inpatient facilities, including its physician practices, have made preparations for Category 1 Hurricane Henri, said Dennis J. Verzi, chief operating officer.

"We have implemented what is called the Hospital Incident Command System or HICS. HICS means we establish a secure Command Center at our major locations, and all direct patient care staffing and nonessential personnel redeployment is coordinated through the centers," he said in a statement. "Additionally, our Command Centers record and manage any necessary staff transportation needs and sleeping/food accommodations."

Through its command centers, officials inventory all staffing, supplies and fuel needs to ensure there is no interruption of care or service.

All of its hospitals have emergency generators to ensure continued essential power.

"All of our facilities regularly participate in drills, covering every possible emergency scenario from flooding, loss of power, hurricanes and other natural disasters," Verzi said. "We began holding meetings last week and are continuing throughout the weekend to secure additional staffing, supplies, test IT and generator systems. All is ready and in place."

Stony Brook University Hospital officials also said they are prepared for the storm.

Connie Kraft, the hospital's emergency manager, said teams had reviewed staffing, space and supplies. Management was keeping abreast of developments with the hurricane and were ready to make adjustments where necessary, she said.

If staff need to stay at the hospital, they will have accommodations, she said. The hospital has backup power should there be a failure, she said.

By Craig Schneider

craig.schneider@newsday.comScraigo

Craig Schneider is a Long Island native and Stony Brook University alumnus. He joined Newsday as a general assignment reporter in January 2018 after 20 years at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.