Westchester and Fairfield County Business Journal 042020

Page 1

APRIL 20, 2020 VOL. 56, No. 16

westfaironline.com

Health care workers protesting at the Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla.

‘We can’t do it if we’re dead’

INSIDE PAGE

2

HELPING IMMIGRANTS

PAGE

3

FUNERAL HOMES MAKING CHANGES

REALTORS TURN TO TECHNOLOGY TO SHOW — AND SELL — PROPERTIES BY KEVIN ZIMMERMAN

NURSES FEAR EQUIPMENT SHORTAGES CAN BE FATAL BY PETER KATZ pkatz@westfairinc.com

T

he answer to the question of whether there’s a shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) for doctors, nurses and other hospital staff dealing with the flood of COVID-19 patients in

local hospitals may depend on who’s asking, who’s answering and the context being applied. Hospital administrators are likely to tell you that while supplies have been tight with prices skyrocketing, regulations regarding use of PPE are being met. Government officials are likely to say supply chains

kzimmerman@westfairinc.com

are in turmoil and states are being price gouged but they are ultimately providing hospitals with everything they need. Governors may tell you the problem is a lack of federal leadership in the supply process causing states to bid against each other, the federal government and foreign countries for finite supplies. Doctors, nurses and other staff are likely to tell you supplies are tight, they’re being forced to repeatedly reuse devices that normally see just a single use and they’re not being protected from the virus. The New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) » NURSES

6

SOME THINGS IN LIFE REMAIN CONSTANT, EVEN IN THESE UNUSUAL TIMES — including people

buying, selling and renting places to live. Someone looking to tour their potential new home is facing new challenges. Open houses are out, thanks to government-mandated limits on how many people can gather in one spot, and the fear on both sides of a transaction of spreading COVID19 cannot be overestimated. But technology is coming to the rescue, according to agents at William Raveis Real Estate (WRRE). The Shelton-based firm announced a record $12 billion in sales for 2019, up

from $11.3 billion in 2018, and was experiencing “an exceptional first quarter, until all this started,” said Beverly Walsh, vice president of sales and manager of WRRE’s Westport office. “All this,” of course, is the pandemic, which Walsh said has caused business to drop significantly. “It all happened so quickly,” she said. “We suddenly had sellers saying, ‘Don’t sell my house — I don’t want someone who might be infected coming here.’ And the same thing with buyers — ‘I don’t want to go in some stranger’s house, I’m hunkering down.’ ” But while showing listings virtually via FaceTime, Zoom or through social » REAL ESTATE

16


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.