A team of 27 clinicians from New Hyde Park, N.Y.-based Northwell Health returned from a 15-day trip to Puerto Rico where they provided aid to victims of Hurricane Maria.
The mission was coordinated by the Greater New York Hospital Association, the Healthcare Association of New York State and the New York Department of Health, which sent teams of caregivers from Northwell, Albany (N.Y.) Medical Center, and New York City-based hospitals Montefiore Medical Center, New York- Presbyterian, Mount Sinai Medical Center and Callen-Lorde Community Health Center.
In Puerto Rico, Northwell's team was based 45 minutes south of San Juan at HIMA Hospital in San Pablo. The team of nurses, physicians and EMTs treated emergency room patients in the hospital's disaster medical assistance tents.
"Their patient census was well over what the hospital was built for," said Randy Howard, vice president of operations at Northwell's Huntington (N.Y.) Hospital, who served as team leader in Puerto Rico. "They had hundreds of extra patients both in the emergency department and inpatient units. They needed some relief."
Editor's note: This article was updated Oct. 31.