State scouts new hospital sites with goal of one per borough

Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the state plans to build one temporary hospital per borough. Photo via Governor’s Office/Flickr

By David Brand

State officials are scouting additional hospital sites in New York City, with a goal of adding a new 1,000-bed medical center in each of the five boroughs, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Thursday.

Four temporary hospital sites are now in the works in and around New York City, but that’s still not enough to meet the urgent need to treat COVID-19 patients, Cuomo said.

"We know at this point that any scenario will overwhelm the capacity of our healthcare system and we are continuing to work aggressively to increase our state's hospital capacity and flatten the curve," Cuomo said. "Our top priority is finding more beds for patients and getting the ventilators we need to ensure our most vulnerable patients are being treated properly, and we are actively scouting new locations for temporary hospital sites.”

Cuomo had previously cited the campuses of St. John’s University and Queens College as potential hospital locations. 

Hospitals are now being built at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in Manhattan and at SUNY Stony Brook, SUNY Old Westbury and the Westchester Convention Center.