Governor Kathy Hochul said on Saturday that nurses employed by Long Island-based Northwell Health have been sent to western New York to help two hospitals deal with the surge in coronavirus infections.

Sixteen clinical professionals and two team leaders came from the Lower State area including New York City and Long Island. They include intensive care, emergency and medical and surgical nurses. The governor said in a statement that they were taken to the Erie County Medical Center in Buffalo and the Strong Memorial Hospital at the University of Rochester for two weeks.

Tom Quatroche, chief executive of the Erie County Medical Center, said the 573-bed hospital was dealing with a large number of patients and a shortage of staff when the nurses arrived.

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Northwell officials pointed out that when New York City and Long Island had virus cases in the early stages of the pandemic, they received help from other health systems.

Michael Dowling, President and CEO of Northwell, said: “After hearing about the shortage of personnel in the area and seeing the peak of COVID-19 cases, we proposed to send nurses there.” “We remember the pandemic has hit us hardest. Time, we are also the worst time.”