GUIDING THE BIG APPLE THROUGH A PANDEMIC
Daniel J. Messina, PhD, FACHE, an alumnus of Seton Hall’s PhD in Health Sciences program, helps New York City navigate COVID-19. by KIMBERLY OLSON
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n March 14, 2020, Richmond University Medical Center received its first COVID-19 patient. By April 8, the Staten Island hospital had 210 such patients, with its 26 critical care beds ballooning to 71, and general medicine surging from 125 to 250 beds. “This was a unique stressor on every part of the organization,” says Daniel Messina, PhD, (right), the hospital’s president and CEO. “It’s usually a single type of event that hits you, and you do what you need to do, and you bounce back. This was a pandemic where there was just no end in sight.” The hospital froze elective care and organized into COVID and non-COVID units, as its dedicated staff rose to the unprecedented challenge. On May 8, as New York City became a COVID hotspot, Mayor Bill de Blasio appointed Messina to his newly formed Public Health and Healthcare
12 BRAVING THE PANDEMIC 2021
Sector Advisory Council. “That put me shoulderto-shoulder with my colleagues, advising the city on getting back to whatever that new normal is going to be,” Messina says.
The council worked with Department of Health staff, elected officials, public health experts, and hospital and post-acute personnel — all collaborating to make datadriven recommendations for the city’s next steps, drawing on best practices across the United States and from other countries. Messina, who works on both a city and state level with fellow CEOs from across the state, participated in regular calls with Governor Andrew Cuomo, worked with his colleagues to help create a more direct, comprehensive oversight system so hospitals could quickly communicate their needs for additional resources, such as staffing and personal protective equipment (PPE). They also provided input for enhancing coordination among city hospitals and healthcare facilities, to improve the public’s connection to post-acute care providers. The council offered guidance in creating protocols for each phase of reopening
