State Recruits Retired Health Professionals To Help With COVID-19

The ongoing threat of COVID-19 in New York State is prompting the recruitment of retired health professionals.

Governor Cuomo announced Tuesday that the demand for hospital beds in New York could outstrip current capacity by tens of thousands when COVID-19 cases reach its expected peak in 45 days.

With a need for beds, comes a need for more health care workers. The New York State Department of Health is reaching out to retired qualified health professionals to sign-up to assist during these unprecedented times.

A letter from The Health Department attached to an online submission form on the State Department Health Department website reads,

Dear Retired Health Professionals,

In the event that the novel coronavirus crisis worsens, we need the help of qualified retired health professionals and related professionals to supplement our hospital capacity on a temporary basis to treat seriously ill coronavirus patients including those that may need to be intubated. The NYS Dept. of Health will recertify you for the purpose.

The online submission form asks the retired professionals to briefly describe their past experience and asks questions about where they live and what licenses they've held.

If you are a retired health professional and are interested in doing an additional civic duty, you are asked to visit this link: https://apps.health.ny.gov/. You're help is needed now more than ever.