Community Sends Off Upstate Nurses Heading to Long Island to Treat Coronavirus Patients

Medical staff clapped and sirens blared outside Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse Thursday morning to give a warm sendoff to the 22 nurses on their way to Long Island to treat coronavirus patients.

Health officials and Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon announced during a briefing Wednesday that the nurses had volunteered to make the trip to Stony Brook University Hospital on Long Island, where a hospital has been set up on the campus' football field.

"The passion for our patients and the passions for nursing's profession [are] really the selfless driver[s] of these incredible staff," Upstate's Chief Nursing Officer, Nancy Page, said during the briefing.

McMahon shared his appreciation for the healthcare professionals at Upstate and alll across central New York who continue to fight the virus from the frontlines.

"We're very proud of all of our nurses that are taking this endeavor," McMahon said. "We're very proud of all of our nurses and healthcare workers here. We've talked a lot about, there's been a lot about, we're one state, what can we do to help? When you look at what is happening in New York State, Long Island is really in a point of crisis right now."

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