The COVID-19 pandemic has altered every aspect of our world. For those serving on the frontlines, life has changed even more dramatically as they uproot their lives to provide medical care to individuals affected by the disease. Their efforts are crucial to moving past this difficult time and towards recovery. In this blog we interview Jeffrey Eberhardt, a veteran of the U.S. Army who is currently working in the epicenter of the pandemic in New York City.
Jeffrey, thanks for taking the time to speak with us. Tell us a bit about your background. What kind of training have you had?
I spent 12 years in the U.S. Army, much of which as a Special Forces Medical Sergeant. In the Army, my duties included medical screenings and examinations, treatment for emergency and trauma patients, providing medical intelligence, and facilitating medical evacuations.
What do you do for a living?
I currently live in south Florida and work as a SCUBA diving instructor. I am also a graduating senior at the University of Miami, studying Mechanical Engineering.
How did your past experience bring you to New York?
There was a need for an additional facility to address the burden on the healthcare system in NYC. Our medical director, Dr. Melissa Givens, has extensive experience working with the special operations community during her time as an emergency physician and toxicologist in the Army. She is intimately familiar with the scope of practice these individuals possess, often operating as independent providers while deployed. Dr. Givens knew she could pull from this untapped pool of healthcare providers to rapidly staff this new facility and provide the same level of care as is available in a typical med floor.
What are the conditions like there?
The physical conditions are incredibly good. We have been very fortunate to be supported by an outstanding organization: NewYork-Presbyterian Allen Hospital. Our facility is located within “the Bubble,” an indoor practice facility that encompasses an entire soccer field. Construction began with installing a floor that is capable of supporting a 1,200 lb. mobile x-ray machine. Probably the most impressive aspect of our facility is that we have an oxygen farm and are able to have O2 piped directly into the building to each patient’s room.
Describe a normal day in your current position. What does your schedule look like?
I’ve had a few different roles since we started. During the build-up I was the Lead Planner, organizing and placing all of the resources made available to us by NY-Presbyterian. When we opened on April 14th, I was the daytime House Supervisor, responsible for all activities inside the bubble and the conduit for information involving operations. Currently, I am in the main hospital, NY-P Milstein. I am leading the liaison team, responsible for identifying and confirming patient candidates for transfer to our facility. I spend much of my day now engaging with and acquiring consent from the patients and their families to transfer them out of the over-burdened hospital wings and into the Ryan Larkin Field Hospital.
How are you staying safe? What kind of protective measures are the staff taking?
All staff are provided extensive personal protection equipment from head to toe. Shoe covers, disposable coveralls, N95 mask with surgical mask overtop, bouffant head cover, and goggles.
How long are your operations expected to continue?
We are expecting to remain in steady-state operations for a couple more weeks before moving into our recovery plan. If all goes as planned, we should be wrapped up by the beginning of June.
What do you notice about the community of people who are involved with helping?
Our staff is an impressive group of people that have spent their careers running toward the sound of gunfire. A call went out for help and the response was overwhelming, having almost 800 volunteers in just days.
What makes you most optimistic about the situation we’re facing?
We proved that we could establish a hospital from nothing in just a matter of days. The most beneficial thing that will come from this event is the experience and ability to document the process so that it can be readily duplicated if needed again in the future.
We’re all very grateful for the courageous efforts of you and your team. Thank you for your time.
