Hempstead credits 'Dr. Dave' with keeping cases among staff down
Dr. David Neubert is working from a converted solar house in Point Lookout, seen on Friday. Credit: Newsday / J. Conrad Williams Jr.
Hempstead Town officials have converted a solar home into an emergency operations center where Long Island’s only town doctor is monitoring the health of workers during the pandemic.
David Neubert works as the Hempstead staff physician in charge of managing the town’s emergency medical services and treating and diagnosing more than 1,800 workers in the country’s largest township.
"Because of the work and collaboration by Dr. Dave, is why we don’t have more confirmed cases,” Councilman Anthony D’Esposito said. “This is preventing further spread of the virus.”
Hempstead Supervisor Don Clavin said the town has one confirmed case of COVID-19 among its staff and credited Neubert and the town EMS for keeping the rest of the workforce healthy. Anyone feeling ill or exhibits symptoms associated with the coronavirus is referred to him for a telephone or videoconference diagnosis.
“We’re basically running a disaster response and a medical branch of disaster response for the town,” Neubert said. “We’re concentrating on the medical aspects of the town and ensuring the health and safety of our workers. It’s so the workforce can be resilient and government can continue essential functions during the extent of the pandemic.”
The town converted a 2007 home in Point Lookout built by the New York Institute of Technology that was being used for teaching and office space into a full-scale emergency medical operations center.
Neubert is in contact daily with the Nassau County Department of Health and manages the town’s EMTs. The town added advanced paramedics this year, before the pandemic, to assist fire departments. Town EMTs are responding to regular emergency calls and ones related to the pandemic.
Neubert is running calls through the emergency operations center and gathers information about the town’s medical response.
“My cellphone was melting down and it was impossible to keep up,” Neubert said. “It’s important we have this EMS as a secure building because we want to provide medical screenings and advice through telehealth. The operations center is for workers to stay healthy.”
Hempstead officials said it’s not only rare on Long Island for a town to have its own doctor on staff, but also rare around the country. Neubert has also helped with Narcan training, visiting seniors and holding online town halls to answer questions about the coronavirus.
The town has one paramedic assigned to conduct welfare checks and to bring supplies to the elderly while senior centers are closed.
The majority of the town’s workforce is working remotely, but some essential services such as sanitation, the building department, clerk’s office and the water department have continued working as essential services, Clavin said.
“This was a great addition paying dividends and something every town should recommend after this is over,” Clavin said.
John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.
