Oswego Mayor Billy Barlow issued a state of emergency Tuesday to help the city better address a number of issues causing ambulance diversions from the local hospital.
Barlow said that because the city provides ambulatory services, the city is in a particularly interesting position.
“Diverting new patients to other facilities presents a unique challenge to the city of Oswego because we run an EMS ambulance operation where we bring people to Oswego Health,” said Barlow.
In his declaration, Barlow said that Oswego Health’s emergency department was diverting ambulance patients because of a combination of severe staffing shortages, a rise in COVID-19 hospitalizations, and an overwhelming occupancy of ICU beds.
He said this state of emergency is more of a procedural move that will help him address these issues.
“When you're in a state of emergency, I can navigate the bureaucracy and make decisions and react to things and better manage the situation than going through sometimes the days or weeks it takes to get approval for certain things,” he said.
As of December 5, all 63 of Oswego Health’s staffed acute care beds and 6 of its 8 staffed ICU beds were all occupied according to state numbers. This comes as Oswego County experiences its highest 7-day positivity rate since the start of the pandemic at 11.7%.
The Oswego County Health Department reported Monday that more than 700 county residents have tested positive for COVID-19 in the last week, with 26 new hospitalizations.
Barlow said this state of emergency wasn’t meant to scare anyone.
“It wasn't the point of the declaration to get people to take COVID-19 more seriously, but hopefully it grabs their attention and they alter their behaviors because of it,” said Barlow.
Barlow can rescind the declaration at any time but says it will be easier to handle things when the Common Council is back in session.
“What will be helpful as in the new year, once the council meetings reconvene and ramp back up, then then it'll be a bit easier for me to navigate them,” he said.
