Buffalo, N.Y., Mar 20, 2020 / 09:30 am
A Catholic hospital in western New York will become the state's first hospital entirely dedicated to treating COVID-19 patients, it announced on Thursday.
Catholic Health, a hospital network serving the western New York area, said on March 19, that the Sisters of Charity Hospital, St. Joseph Campus in Buffalo, NY, will become a designated COVID-19 treatment center. The announcement was made on the Solemnity of St. Joseph.
There are presently over 4,000 coronavirus cases in New York state. In Erie County, where the hospital is located, there are 29 confirmed cases, and several hundred patients waiting for test results. While the majority--an estimated 80%--are likely to be mild in nature, about one-fifth of patients are expected to require hospitalization and of those, 5% could require intensive care.
Catholic Health's President and CEO Mark Sullivan said in an article published in The Buffalo News that the St. Joseph Campus was chosen for its location, flexibility and "the ability to act expeditiously and get the site up and running."