July 1, 2021 – For New Yorkers, from March 11 to May 2, 2020, it was definitely the worst time in pandemic.
Nearly 19,000 people died of COVID-19 in New York City during those weeks, which translates to more than 350 deaths per day and more than one death every 5 minutes. No one witnessed more chaos in the early days of the pandemic than essential workers in the city, including those on the front lines at Mount Sinai Hospital.
and in The boom at Mount Sinai, Documentary streaming Discover + Today, you’ll be transported to the hospital’s intensive care units and meet many of the hospital’s early patients, as well as the heroic doctors, nurses, and support staff of Mount Sinai.
To find out how his crew worked and what he thought of the film, we interviewed David L.Rich, MD, president of Mount Sinai, one of the largest and most populous healthcare systems in the country, via Zoom. Read on for his thoughts on COVID-19, the documentary, and what he’s worried about right now.
WebMD: When did you know we were in trouble with this virus?
Reich: late February. I am fortunate to be in touch with my colleagues in Italy, and messages of despair began to arrive during that time. It was very scary. They made it clear that this is not just a respiratory virus and that it is burdening hospitals and staff. They told me to try to be ready.
WebMD: The movie really delves into Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) Your team can still feel. How focused are you on this day?
Reich: We are fortunate to have Dr. Dennis Charney as Dean of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. He’s an expert in resilience, and he jumped into this one because these issues are first and foremost on our minds. We recently created a file The Center for Stress, Resilience and Personal Growth To help our employees recover. This virus was a war, and we know from wartime PTSD that PTSD has phases and can last a long time. The hardest thing for our employees was the fear of getting infected or bringing the infection back home. Then there was the fact that, with this virus, our patients were dying alone with no family members present. The staff intervened, and they FaceTimed the family members who were saying goodbye. Our chaplains cannot be in the hospital, so, if families request it, the staff, especially our nurses, arrive at the moment of death. We were alternative For families who could not be present in the most critical emotional moments of life, that is, when they lost a loved one. Interfering in that moment was something that changed us all forever.