New NDMS team arrives at Upstate University Hospital to help emergency department

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — A new group with the National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) arrived at Upstate University Hospital on Friday, Jan. 14, just as the first group finished its work at the hospital’s emergency department.

The NDMS, which is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is helping Upstate to care for patients in the hospital’s emergency room and in other non-intensive-care unit (ICU) patient-care areas of the hospital.

The second group will work at the hospital through Jan. 26.

The ongoing national health-care worker shortage; the rise in cases of COVID-19; and the “overwhelming demand for services exclusively available at the only academic medical center in the region, was behind the request from Upstate for additional help,” Upstate said in a release.

The NDMS team’s work at Upstate has been “invaluable,” especially in the emergency department, Robert Corona, CEO of Upstate University Hospital, said.

In the emergency department, the number of patients who leave the emergency room without being seen because of long waits has dropped nearly 30 percent and ambulance offload times have been reduced at least 50 percent, he added.

“The team’s immersion into the emergency department was seamless,” Corona contended. “With their assistance, we saw progress in our emergency department instantly. We wish this busy team well on their next assignment and welcome our new team.”