With COVID-19 continuing to spread and Gov. Andrew Cuomo targeting a potential need for additional hospital beds, state Sen. George Borrello, R-Sunset Bay, and his legislative colleagues, Assemblymen Joseph Giglio, R-Gowanda, and Andy Goodell, R-Jamestown, made an official request to Cuomo urging the state to utilize recently closed TLC/Lakeshore hospital as a temporary medical facility during the crisis.

“TLC/Lakeshore hospital is ideally suited to help the state meet the health care challenges COVID-19 has brought to our doorstep. Only recently closed, the hospital has an upgraded emergency department, expansive bed capacity, full handicapped accessibility and a strategic location bordering Erie, Chautauqua and Cattaraugus counties as well as the Seneca Nation. The hospital has the potential to be an essential and lifesaving resource as our state mobilizes to handle this unprecedented crisis,” Borrello said.

He also noted that, due to the strategic location of the hospital, several elected officials in the region support the idea including, Chautauqua County Executive PJ Wendel and Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz.

TLC/Lakeshore hospital in Irving was a part of the region’s health care network from 1965 until Feb. 2. At the time of its closure, the facility featured a modern emergency department, a 20-bed inpatient behavioral health and 20-bed chemical dependency units. Earlier in its history, it had over 100 residential beds.

“Lakeshore Hospital is immediately available to treat patients with COVID-19, and I urge the Department of Health to consider using the facility during this time of emergency.”

“Our region was devastated by the closure of Lakeshore, but we now have the opportunity to turn the situation around and provide the benefit of access to a facility ready-made for the coronavirus pandemic in Western New York. I again urge the Governor and the Department of Health to utilize Lakeshore Hospital to serve as a temporary COVID-19 medical treatment facility,” Giglio said.

“Although it is my hope that the aggressive steps taken to date to combat this virus will eliminate the need for any additional hospital beds, it is important to be prepared. There are many skilled nurses and other health care professionals who can provide the exceptional and compassionate care that has always characterized Lakeshore hospital. The utilization of this facility could also provide needed financial support to Brooks hospital,” Goodell said.