Every year, Chuck commits to traveling to all62 counties in New York to meet with constituents.
On November 23, standing at Oneida Health Hospital as Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection (RSV) cases surge in children across Central New York, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer launched a major new push to increase federal support for Upstate hospitals strained by the dramatic increase in RSV cases.
Oneida Health Hospital’s positive RSV cases have already nearly doubled compared to last year – with 80% of cases being children under 5 years old. At nearby Golisano Children’s Hospital in Syracuse, they have so many RSV patients that it has run out of beds, and they are forced to send kids to hospitals in other cities. Flanked by pediatricians on the frontlines, Schumer said the spiking levels of RSV with growing flu rates warrants immediately federal action, and called for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to be ready to act at a moment’s notice to provide whatever support upstate hospitals need. Schumer reported that the federal government has unique authority to help, with the power to support temporary structures, surge staffing if there are not enough pediatricians available, moving patients across states lines, credentialing out of state providers, enhancing the use of telehealth, coordinating medical supply chains and more.