Updated: April 15, 9:30 a.m.
SHARON — The rumors that Sharon Hospital will become an overflow facility for Norwalk Hospital are not exactly true. As is often the case with rumors, though, there are some true elements in the story.
For the past four or five weeks, said Dr. Mark Hirko in a phone interview from his car late on Thursday afternoon, April 8, Sharon Hospital has been sending its most acutely ill COVID-19 positive patients to the other six hospitals in the Nuvance Health/Health Quest network.
Sharon Hospital ownership
Hirko is the head of Sharon Hospital, which is now part of the nonprofit Health Quest, based in Dutchess County; the other three Health Quest hospitals are all in New York state (Northern Dutchess, Vassar Brothers and Putnam).
Health Quest is part of Nuvance, which also has the Western Connecticut Health Network, made up of three hospitals in Connecticut: Danbury, Norwalk and New Milford.
For the past four or five weeks, Hirko said, critically ill COVID-positive patients have been transferred to Danbury, Vassar Brothers and Norwalk.
“These are Level 2 trauma centers that have the ICUs and the instrumentation and back-up to handle these severely critically ill patients.”
Hirko said that Sharon has had one or two patients every week in recent weeks who required intubation and transfer.
The senior leadership in the health care system has been meeting constantly, Hirko said, to assess the situation. They feel that the next two weeks will be a COVID-19 peak in Connecticut and in Litchfield County, which he said has the fourth highest number of COVID-19 positive patients in the state.
The assumption is that, more or less, Connecticut and Litchfield County are about two weeks behind New York City.
At the moment, Hirko said, the hospital is well-prepared to manage confirmed cases of COVID-19 in specialized areas of isolation. The health system defers, he said, to the Connecticut and New York departments of health regarding the numbers of confirmed cases and their origins.
Who comes to Sharon
Some of the patients who are not acutely ill or who are recovering can return from those other hospitals to Sharon.
“Some 85 to 95% of people will survive,” Hirko said. “They get extubated [that is, they are no longer intubated] but they are not healthy enough to go home. The larger hospitals are now starting to fill up with patients who don’t need the high-end care anymore; they now need a place to convalesce. So some of those patients are coming to our facility now.”
The hospitals in the Nuvance system “all are working together as one big health system,” Hirko said. “We are all interchanging patients depending on what level of care we can offer. It’s working very well and we are doing our part by accepting patients from Norwalk and other hospitals who had no place else to go.”
Sharon’s field hospital
As Sharon Hospital prepares for what could be a peak in the need for COVID-positive patient care over the next two weeks, Hirko said that the state is building field hospitals in several locations, including Sharon.
Construction of an Army field tent hospital happened in Sharon on Friday, April 9. It took about six hours to put the concrete anchors in place, inflate the tent, line the walls, connect electricity and HVAC and add entries to the front and back.
Retired career military officer Daniel Murphy, who is director of the New England Disaster Training Center, oversaw the construction project. The workers were all members of the Connecticut Militia.
In general, he said, the militia’s role is largely ceremonial but a year ago the Adjutant General of the Connecticut National Guard, Major General Francis J. Evon Jr., suggested that the militia members get trained to perform emergency tasks.
The task they were assigned was to learn to construct field hospitals. This was before the threat of COVID-19 made it seem that the hospitals would be needed. As it turned out, the militia were trained and ready to go and the materials were available.
They are state field hospitals
The field hospitals are owned by the state Department of Public Health and are a project of the governor’s office, not of Nuvance or Health Quest. Sharon was chosen as a location for the fourth and at this point final field hospital in the governor’s COVID-19 surge plan because of its location and the ease of accessing it, by helicopter if necessary and by other means of transportation.
At this point it has not been determined what type of patients will be cared for in the field hospital. They are only there as backup, in case there is a need for more beds.
“They are meant to, if needed, house patients locally and across the state,” he said, “should facilities statewide require extra bed capacity during a significant increase in COVID-19 cases.”
Just for back up
Hirko stressed that, for now at least, “we are NOT overwhelmed.” The field hospitals are being set up just in case.
The four field hospitals,Murphy said, are in Sharon, New Haven at St. Francis, Danbury and Middlesex.
The field hospital at Sharon is “fully contained,” Hirko said. “It is hooked up to our electricity and heat and hot and cold running water.”
The tent can hold 25 patients, most of whom will not need to see a doctor but can be treated by nurse practitioners and other medical staff.
Hirko stressed that, “Our goal is to be sure we’re prepared and never have to use the field hospitals.”
He also stressed that he and the Sharon Hospital staff are trying hard to be transparent and keep the community informed.
“We want to be sure there are no secrets and no confusion.”
LJMN Media, publisher of The Lakeville Journal (first published in 1897) and The Millerton News (first published in 1932) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit news organization.
We seek to help readers make more informed decisions through comprehensive news coverage of communities in Northwest Connecticut and Eastern Dutchess County in New York.
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Giana Dormi, no. 3 of Pine Plains, and Michelle Blackburn, no. 12 of Pine Plains, put the pressure on Juliana Manginelli, no. 11 of Tuckahoe, as she tries to find a pass during the second round of the regional tournament at Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh, N.Y. on Tuesday, March 11.
NEWBURGH, N.Y. — The Pine Plains Bombers were knocked out in second round of the Section IX regional tournament after a hard fought game against the Tuckahoe Tigers on Tuesday, March 11.
The Bombers won the tip and got off to an early lead, but the Tuckahoe Tigers outpaced them quickly and finished the game 59-25.
Giana Dormi, no. 3 of Pine Plains, and Neveah Rennie, no. 34 of Pine Plains, started the game strong, scoring six points for the Bombers in the first few minutes. Tuckahoe responed in kind by promptly running up the score, sending Cara Doherty, no. 5, to the backboard for four field goals before the end of the first quarter.
Tuckahoe's runaway lead started in the first quarter. Going into the second that team led the Bombers 19-8.
The lead was further cemented in the second quarter, when Tuckahoe sank another nine field goals — one a three-pointer from Grace Kern, no. 15 — adding up to an additional 19 points and putting the score at 38-13 going into the half.
Neveah Rennie, no. 34 of Pine Plains, attempts to drive a layup through a group of Tuckahoe defenders during the second round of the regional tournament at Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh, N.Y., on Tuesday, March 11.Photo by Nathan Miller
"Tuckahoe's a great team, they've got everything," girls varsity coach Les Funk said. "They're in shape, they run. Those kids out there didn't even look like they were breaking a sweat. That was a tough matchup for us."
The Bombers tried their hardest, but Tuckahoe's precision in defense was too much for the Pine Plains girls. Tuckahoe's fouls only sent Pine Plains players to the free throw line on five occasions. The Bombers couldn't make those free throw attempts count, with the team racking up a free-throw make percentage of just 20%.
Coach Funk is setting his sights on next season and another chance at the regional title. "They've got a taste of it now," Funk said. "I think if they work in the off-season they've got a chance."
The Bombers held their heads high after their loss to Tuckahoe in the second round of the regional tournament at Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh, N.Y., on Tuesday, March 11.Photo by Nathan Miller
Dan Aymar-Blair
POUGHKEEPSIE — Dutchess comptroller Dan Aymar-Blair released a special report early last week on federal monies and how they move through the county level, including the disbursement process in the county; how federal funding benefits Dutchess residents and whether any fiscal distribution issues have surfaced locally as a result of actions taken on behalf of the Trump administration.
According to Aymar-Blair’s report, federal programming represents roughly 10% of Dutchess expenditures, not including any COVID-19 assistance. As an illustration of federal- to county-level distribution and spending, in 2023, under the Biden administration, the county received approximately $65 million from the U.S. government with $25 million going toward direct aid in support of such programs as home energy assistance and food stamps. Federal monies were also disbursed — and continue to be directed — toward county-level agencies, programming and supports such as adoption, foster care and child care needs, emergency/disaster assistance, infrastructure development and maintenance, and workforce initiatives.
In addition to federal-to-county funding, Aymar-Blair noted an additional $1.9 billion annually is directly distributed to Dutchess residents from the U.S. government via Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. These entities are clearly not immune to the impact from the Trump administration as the Social Security office in Poughkeepsie, for example, has been poised for a reduction in office services. Whether Social Security benefits to individuals are reduced or cut entirely remains to be seen.
While data pertaining to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid recipients particular to Northeastern Dutchess was not readily available, data from the Social Security Administration provides some clues as to the number of individuals in Dutchess County who could potentially be impacted by benefit cuts. According to 2023 figures from the SSA, 4,730 Dutchess residents received Social Security benefits, 4,232 persons were categorized as blind/disabled and 2,904 persons were listed between the ages of 18 through 64. For adults 65 and over, 1,261 received Social Security benefits. The number of persons under the age of 18 receiving SSA benefits was listed at 565.
While cuts to Medicare and Medicaid have not been announced, it is possible under the circumstances. According to a Feb. 27 statement from Alan Morgan, chief executive officer of the National Rural Health Association, any disruption to these benefits, particularly Medicaid, would worsen an already challenging situation.” The Medicaid program is a lifeline for rural hospitals, providers and patients,” Morgan said. “Any cuts to the Medicaid program will disproportionately affect rural communities. Rural Americans rely on Medicaid coverage more so than their urban counterparts with about 20% of adults and 40% of children living in rural areas enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP,” the Children’s Health Insurance Program.
Aymar-Blair agreed with the impact assessment as well as its potential outlier results, saying, “Dutchess County relies heavily upon this ... Cuts to Dutchess County’s federal funding could impact life-saving programs, and reduced consumer spending would be a likely side effect of reduced federal assistance like Medicaid.”
Aymar-Blair’s report does not include information on federal awards to businesses or municipalities, nor does it address the controversies attached to impacted in-county federal entities such as the Castle Point Veterans Hospital in Wappingers Falls, New York, which — as with the Poughkeepsie Social Security office — is also reducing its services with the closing of its E2 Acute Inpatient Care Unit, which eliminated 20 inpatient beds. While calls have gone out from local officials and residents to sustain the offerings provided by the Poughkeepsie Social Security office and the Castle Point VA hospital, no action has been taken just yet on the part of the federal government.
While Aymar-Blair concedes there has been no disruption from the federal level at this time to Dutchess funding, he has received a sufficient number of phone calls and emails from constituents to spur him to continuously monitor the situation. He is also working in collaboration with county departments to determine any impacts future actions from the Trump administration could have on funding for Dutchess County agencies, services and programs with the situation remaining very fluid.
For more information or to read the comptroller’s report in its entirety, visit: www.dutchessny.gov, navigate to “Government,” click “County Comptroller”, and click on “News and Announcements”.
The Stissing Center was bustling just before the show on Sunday, March 9.
PINE PLAINS — The Stissing Center was packed on Sunday for an afternoon performance of podcast and NPR series “Selected Shorts.” The sold-out show, which was recorded for national broadcast at a later date, brought a lineup of four accomplished actors and storytellers to the Pine Plains stage to recite a selection of short stories from award-winning authors.
“Selected Shorts,” a product of Manhattan-based performing arts powerhouse Symphony Space, features prominent actors who recite works of short fiction. The full program usually revolves around a theme; Sunday afternoon’s focus was “transformations.”
Comedian, writer and actress Ophira Eisenberg — or “renaissance woman of storytelling,” as Stissing Center Executive Director Patrick Trettenero introduced her — assumed hosting duties, warming up the crowd with jokes about Brooklyn egg prices and doctors with self-esteem issues — “I want a megalomaniac with a god complex and no hobbies.”
Every seat in the large coffeehouse-style auditorium was filled, and the crowd was engaged. “For a 3 p.m. audience, you guys are amazing!” exclaimed Eisenberg.
Actor David Straithairn took the stage first, reading a short story by Pulitzer Prize winning author Steven Millhauser titled “Green.” Straithairn’s classic, almost antique delivery suited the small-town American ethos of the story well. A somewhat detached but observant narrator recounts the story of a sort of anti-plant mania that started “innocently enough” in his town, stripping public and private property alike of all greenery. Eventually, a few intrepid neighbors add shrubbery back to their yards, prompting a swing back in the other direction: “After a brief diversion, a playful experiment, things had returned to normal in our quiet town — or had they?”
Straithharn’s reading was followed by an animated performance from actor Lauren Ambrose, whose long resumé is most recently punctuated by her role in the popular television series “Yellowjackets.” Ambrose read “Quantum Voicemail” by novelist and short-story writer Kristen Iskandrian, a woozy tale from a particular and slightly neurotic narrator who describes voicemail in probably the most poetic language ever put to page about the messaging format. Voicemail is “a stirring three minute soliloquy,” and “like a photograph, it capture[s] a moment of attention,” says the rapt narrator.
A brief intermission enabled patrons to refuel with drinks or popcorn from the bar, or head outside to enjoy the early spring weather. For those who remained in the theater, the sunken lounge-like space in the center of the room facilitated easy conservation between neighbors as they reflected on the performances.
Eisenberg herself recited the third story, “Squirrels” by Israeli writer Etgar Kenet. The action opens with a description of a family myth — or was it? — about a grandfather being reincarnated as a giant squirrel after a battle with cancer, and which subsequently halts his widow’s next wedding by biting the groom-to-be’s thumb. The story does get sentimental, which Eisenberg’s mostly comic oration accented well.
The final performance was of New York City-raised writer Jamel Brinkley’s “Blessed Deliverance,” a coming-of-age story about a group of college-bound teenagers growing up and growing apart in gentrifying Brooklyn. New York stage and screen actor Teagle F. Bougere handled the tension and confusion of late childhood/young adulthood well in his recitation. The plot reaches a high point when an unhoused man releases a pack of rabbits from an animal rescue shelter into the street while the group of teens looks on, cheering but not entirely sure what for.
After a few closing remarks from Eisenberg, the show was complete. Satisfied attendees made their way back to their cars and released the streets of Pine Plains into Sunday quietude once again.
