Lentol, Felder Bill Paves Way for Volunteer Compassionate Care Program
Assembly Member Joseph Lentol (D-Greenpoint, Williamsburg) and State Sen. Simcha Felder (Borough Park, Midwood, Flatbush, Ditmas Park, Kensington) introduced legislation that creates the volunteer Compassionate Care Program and outlined a plan for the program in a letter to hospital administrators on April 24.
“When a loved one is hospitalized, family and friends routinely stay at their bedside to provide the comfort, care and assistance that we all know is vital to recovery. Unfortunately, the onset of this crisis necessitated patient isolation policies, but it is now clear that they are taking an additional toll on human life and leaving many more with deep emotional wounds,” said Felder.
“Doctors and nurses are racing, around the clock, to find and administer a cure that eludes us, while panicked family members are relying on them to provide health updates, deliver messages of love and hope and even to provide end of life prayers and customs. Meanwhile, patients are alone, scared, weak and often unable to communicate. I am certain that we can and must do better. I am grateful to Assembly Member Lentol for his leadership on this initiative,” he added.
“The COVID-19 Compassionate Helper Volunteer Program seeks to ease the pain and suffering of families due to separation during the COVID-19 crisis. The current reality of having a member of your family hospitalized is horrifying and heartbreaking. This pain is multiplied as families are unable to visit with their hospitalized family member, which is unbearable,” said Lentol.
“Compassionate Helpers can ease a small portion of the demands placed on health care workers by sitting with patients and doing the extra work of care that is impossible for health care workers to attend to. Right now, we have volunteers doing all kinds of work, from dispensing food to delivering much-needed supplies. This is a new way of volunteering, and with the right protection, I believe it can work. I thank Senator Felder for partnering with me to introduce this legislation in the Senate. As we progress through the COVID19 pandemic, we must find ways to ease the suffering of families while their loved ones are hospitalized,” he added.
Persaud to Host Online “Story Time”
NYS Senator Roxanne J. Persaud (Canarsie, East New York, Brownsville, Mill Basin, Sheepshead Bay, Bergen Beach, Marine Park, Flatlands, Mill Island, Georgetown, Ocean Hill, Starrett City) in partnership with children’s author Kamla Millwood, will be hosting “Story Time.” Ms. Millwood will be reading from her popular children’s book series, Peach the Duck, on Wednesday, May 6th at 11 AM on Facebook LIVE.
“I am honored to partner with Ms. Millwood to host this online event, now in its fifth week. During these unprecedented times, it is important that children continue a healthy educational routine. This event will help inspire a passion for reading among our youngest constituents while engaging in remote learning,” said Persuad.
To participate with your child, go to www.facebook.com/peachtheduckfanpage/ or Senator Persaud’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/sd19senatorpersaud.
Rose Hosts Telephone Town Hall on Coronavirus
U.S. Rep. Max Rose (South Brooklyn, Staten Island) held a telephone town hall with a local hospital leader and representatives from the Small Business Administration (SBA) to help constituents and answer questions on the coronavirus (COVID-19) response and relief efforts.
“In a crisis like this where there’s so much uncertainty and fear, the number one thing people need from their elected officials is clear and honest communication,” said Rose. “I’m proud of the work that my team has put in over the past several weeks to ensure that we could come to Staten Islanders and South Brooklynites armed not just with answers to their questions, but with action and results.”
Nearly 7,000 Staten Islanders and South Brooklynites joined the telephone town hall in which questions ranged from the need for state and local funding in future relief packages, safely re-opening the economy and protecting workers, small business relief and oversight of those programs, COVID-19 testing options and availability, and how to prepare for a second wave.
Lentol Wants Unproductive Rhetoric to Stop
Assembly Member Joseph Lentol (D-Greenpoint, Williamsburg) called on U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to stop the unproductive rhetoric that pits states against each other over COVID19 relief funding and instead negotiate direct aid to New York – the state hardest hit by the COVID19 pandemic.
“Now is not the time for unproductive, unconscionable political rhetoric. Thousands of people are dead in New York because of COVID19, and millions more stand on the brink of economic ruin. New York has always stepped in to help fellow citizens in other states while also paying our fair share in tax dollars to the federal government. Now, we need the help of the federal government to fund the stability and well-being of New York – the economic engine of the United States,” said Lentol.
Lentol aid the financial relief packages New York State received from the federal government to date have been helpful but are not enough in the face of utter economic devastation. With New York being the most affected state in the nation due to the COVID19 pandemic, localities find themselves in desperate need of immediate funding to continue the operation of basic services while also facing a dismal long-term economic outlook.
Lentol is joined by 42 colleagues in the New York State Assembly calling on McConnell to begin negotiations on direct and unrestricted aid to New York State.
Myrie Holds Townhall and Updates on COVID-19
State Sen. Zellnor Myrie (D-Brownsville, Crown Heights, East Flatbush, Gowanus, Park Slope, Prospect Heights, Prospect Lefferts Gardens, South Slope, Sunset Park) held a townhall last night.
Also participating were NYS Attorney General Leticia James, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez, and Assembly Member Diana Richardson and the lawmakers talked about the rise in scams and consumer fraud and what you can do to protect yourself.
Other Updates:
Cases and Hospitalizations:
- 304,372 New Yorkers have now tested positive for COVID-19 and 11,598 are currently hospitalized. Over the past day, 306 have died from the virus, bringing the statewide total to above 18,000.
NYC Transit:
- The governor announced that public transit in New York City will shut down daily between the hours of 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. The MTA will clean trains and buses every night, and essential workers will get free rides via for-hire vehicles, buses, and other forms of transportation.
Contact Tracing:
- Former Mayor Mike Bloomberg joined Governor Cuomo at his daily briefing to discuss plans for tracing the spread of the virus, a key ingredient in containment and recovery. The former mayor and governor said that the state plans to hire “an army” of between 6,400-17,000 contact tracers.
Testing for Pregnant Women:
- Governor Cuomo signed an executive order that will provide coronavirus testing for pregnant women and create more options for women giving birth, such as birthing centers.
Nursing Home:
- State health officials reversed a policy that allowed COVID positive, but asymptomatic nursing home staffers to continue to go to work.
Reopening Plans:
- Governor Cuomo unveiled further details on plans for reopening the state, including antibody testing in addition to the 30,000 COVID-19 tests being performed every day. The governor said we are about halfway to our daily testing goal.
Williams Statement on Shortage of Funeral Homes/ Morgues
Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams released the following statement in response to the overburdening of and inadequate responses to shortages at funeral homes and morgues amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The stories and images we have witnessed from funeral homes and morgues in recent days and weeks are deeply disturbing to behold and traumatizing for families already afflicted with grief. An inability to responsibly and respectfully attend to the deceased and support their families only compounds that tragedy. Dignity does not end in death, and our responsibility to uphold that dignity does not diminish, even in a pandemic.
“The inability to do so, particularly in low-income communities, often communities of more color, represents the reality that funeral homes and morgues cannot meet the burden of this crisis with the current policies and resources provided. As with other shortages, it’s critical to move resources to the communities hardest hit and facing the greatest need – both as an immediate response and to proactively ease the mounting burden. We can’t lose sight of the humanity of loss in this crisis. Nor can we fail to meet the needs of families struggling to bury their loved ones and manage their estates, restricted by the capacity of our systems and struggling with unimaginable grief. Fatalities aren’t a number, they are our fellow New Yorkers, and we need the city and state to react with shared empathy and urgency to meet this overwhelming level of loss and pain.”
Ortiz on Sunset Park Testing Site
Assistant Speaker Felix W. Ortiz (D-Sunset Park, Red Hook) has secured a COVID-19 testing site in Sunset Park with the assistance of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the NYS Department of Health.
“COVID-19 is striking terror in our city, especially in our Hispanic and Black communities,” Ortiz said. “My constituents are putting their own health and their family’s health at risk of contracting the Coronavirus working as caregivers, food service workers, home attendants, childcare givers, cleaners and delivery people. When they get sick, they go home, and their families get sick too. These are the city’s most underpaid, underappreciated and forgotten workers, with nowhere to go near home to be tested for the virus.”
“I asked the Governor to help and he quickly stepped in to set up a site that is walk-in ready and will take all who want to be tested.” Ortiz said. “Securing testing sites is merely a start in my fight against racism, health disparity and injustices in my community and others like mine in New York. This virus doesn’t discriminate but our health care system does. We must put an end to this disparity. I will continue to push for passage of New York’s Health Care Act to end inequality and racism in seeking medical services.”
The new testing site is located at the former NYU Langone Augustana Center, 5434 2nd Avenue. This is not a walk-in site. Appointments are required by calling 888-364-3065. If you need a test and are not able to get an appointment, call Ortiz’s office at (718)-492-6334 and they will assist you.
