JUDY WOODRUFF: The number of
hospitalizations in New York
state has slowed, a pattern that

has been consistent for
more than a week now.

But to give you some
perspective, more than
15,000 people in the
state have died from

COVID-related complications.
In New York City alone, 35,000
people are estimated now to

be hospitalized with COVID-19.

William Brangham gets a
front-line dispatch from a group
assisting the hospitals there.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: The
International Medical
Corps is working right
now in New York City,

the epicenter of
America's outbreak.

They're bringing in volunteers
from across the country to
help four different hospitals

to help support the people who
are working in those hospitals
as they deal with COVID-19

patients.

Susan Mangicaro is the
New York coordinator
for the International
Medical Corps. And she

joins me now from the
Javits Center in New York.

Susan, thank you very,
very much for being here.

Could you just start off by
telling us -- you're in New York
City. Most of our viewers are

elsewhere in the country,
watching what's going on in
New York. Could you give us a

sense, broadly, of what you
have been seeing over the last
weeks, the last month or so?

SUSAN MANGICARO, International
Medical Corps: When we arrived
on April 2, it was really

at the peak of the storm here.

I have served in disasters for
International Medical Corps
across the world, and I have

never seen anything like this in
the United States. It was truly
unprecedented. The hospitals

were completely overwhelmed.
Staff was -- was
basically in shock and
traumatized from having

to make some choices that we're
not accustomed to in the United
States, and simply the number

of deaths of
patients dying alone.

The supplies that were needed
were eventually brought in. But,
initially, things were very,

very tight. Luckily, things are
slightly improved this week,
but still quite devastating. The

system is in a state of shock.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: As you
alluded to, the International
Medical Corps normally
responds to wars, conflicts,

disasters in other nations.

Do you ever stop for a moment
and just sit back and think,
we're doing this here in the

middle of New York City?

SUSAN MANGICARO: Yes, all the
time. It's -- it's surreal.

Seeing and witnessing in
hospital emergency departments
the stress that the system was

under, it's something that,
again, you're kind of not --
we're just not accustomed to

this in the United States.
You're used to seeing that
perhaps in resource-poor regions

or regions that have
been devastated from
natural disasters or
work conflict areas,

but certainly not here
in our own country.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Are there
lessons that you have learned
from doing humanitarian work

of this sort in other
nations that are --
that's applicable here?

SUSAN MANGICARO: Absolutely.

We have done this both
in disaster response,
but infectious disease
outbreak from Ebola

to cholera. We know how to
set up quickly. We know how to
bring in the people that are

accustomed to dealing with
trauma very rapidly. And
we know -- and we have
support from wonderful

partners and organizations
that allow us to do what we do
and bring in the relief where

it's needed most.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: You're
obviously there to help
backstop the front-line
health care workers

that are working in these
hospitals, and provide
relief and sort of
rotate in when they need

it.

How are those people doing,
from your experience?

SUSAN MANGICARO: So, I will
tell you from both perspectives.

We have done a number
of things here. We have
brought in emergency
field shelters for them

to use as surge capacity.
We have brought in
supplies and PPE.

But most important, we have
brought in medical staff to help
relieve those overburdened staff

workers. Some facilities were
down 25 percent of patients
because -- or of staff, because

they were
COVID-positive and sick.

And those that were there were
working very long shifts and
in very critical areas that

the hospitals had to adapt to.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: You're
standing there in the
Javits Center, which
we know was an -- is

an overflow, a big convention
center now turned into
an overflow hospital.

We have been seeing some reports
that New York state and New
York City might be bending

its curve a little bit,
and seeing some plateauing
of cases. Has that been
your experience thus

far?

SUSAN MANGICARO: Yes, certainly,
in the emergency department, the
number of admissions are down.

That is help, providing
some relief and to
decompress a little bit.

However, if you look at the
number of patients still in the
intensive care unit, and the

acuity level of those
patients, they're still
at capacity, if not over,
beginning to decompress

some.

So there is a little sense of
relief here in the health care
system. They're -- they're

very trepidatious about
backing off, because the
concern is, what if it
-- what if it skyrockets

again? We certainly do not
want to see what happened the
first time around happen again.

And I don't think it will.
I think one of the biggest
lessons for all of us is that,

you know, preparedness
is really important.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: All
right, Susan Mangicaro
from the International
Medical Corps, thank

you very, very much.

And thank you for all the
work that you're doing.

SUSAN MANGICARO:
Thank you so much.