A Connecticut healthcare system’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5055/ajdm.2021.0401

Keywords:

pandemic system vaccination emergency

Abstract

Connecticut was impacted severely and early on by the COVID-19 pandemic due to the state’s proximity to New York City. Hartford Healthcare (HHC), one of the largest healthcare systems in New England, became integral in the state’s response with a robust emergency management system already in place. In this manuscript, we review HHC’s prepandemic emergency operations as well as the response of the system-wide Office of Emergency Management to the initial news of the virus and throughout the evolving pandemic. Additionally, we discuss the unique acquisition of vital critical care resources and personal protective equipment, as well as the hospital personnel distribution in response to the shifting demands of the virus. The public testing and vaccination efforts, with early consideration for at risk populations, are described as well as ethical considerations of scarce resources. To date, the vaccination effort resulted in over 70 percent of the adult population being vaccinated and with 10 percent of the population having been infected, herd immunity is eminent. Finally, the preparation for reestablishing elective procedures while experiencing a second wave of the pandemic is discussed. These descriptions may be useful for other healthcare systems in both preparation and response for future catastrophic emergencies of all types.

Author Biographies

Jane Keating, MD

Department of Surgery, Hartford Hospital, Hartford, Connecticut; Professor of Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington, Connecticut

Lenworth Jacobs, MD, MPH, DSc, FACS, FWACS

Department of Surgery, Hartford Hospital, Hartford, Connecticut; Professor of Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington, Connecticut

Daniel Ricaurte, MD

Department of Surgery, Hartford Hospital, Hartford, Connecticut; Professor of Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington, Connecticut

Rocco Orlando, MD

Department of Surgery, Hartford Hospital, Hartford, Connecticut; Professor of Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington, Connecticut

Ajay Kumar, MD

Department of Surgery, Hartford Hospital, Hartford, Connecticut; Professor of Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington, Connecticut

Jonathan Gates, MD

Department of Surgery, Hartford Hospital, Hartford, Connecticut; Professor of Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington, Connecticut

References

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New York City Department of City Planning: Population: Journey to work tables. New York City, NY. 2019. Available at https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/planning/download/pdf/planning-level/housing-economy/nyc-ins-and-out-of-commuting.pdf. Accessed June 1, 2021.

Connecticut COVID-19 Response: Daily data report for Connecticut. 2021. Available at https://portal.ct.gov/coronavirus/covid-19-data-tracker. Accessed June 1, 2021.

Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations Health Care at the Crossroads: Strategies for creating and sustaining community-wide emergency preparedness system. 2003. Available at https://www.jointcommission.org/-/media/deprecatedunorganized/imported-assets/tjc/system-folders/topics-library/emergency_preparednesspdf.pdf?db=web&hash=91EF71C40DB61C83B34368560B7DD52C. Accessed June 1, 2021.

CT Department of Public Health: Standards of care: Providing health care during a prolonged public health emergency. 2010. Available at https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/Departments-and-Agencies/DPH/dph/legal/StandardsofCarefinalpdf.pdf. Accessed June 1, 2021.

American College of Surgeons: Local resumption of elective surgery guidance. 2020. Available at https://www.facs.org/covid-19/clinical-guidance/resuming-elective-surgery. Accessed May 31, 2021.

American Hospital Association: Safely resuming elective surgery as COVID-19 curve flattens: ACS, ASA, AORN, and AHA develop roadmap for readiness. 2020. Available at https://www.aha.org/press-releases/2020-04-17-safely-resuming-elective-surgerycovid-19-curve-flattens-acs-asa-aorn-and. Accessed May 31, 2021.

Published

09/01/2021

How to Cite

Keating, MD, J., L. Jacobs, MD, MPH, DSc, FACS, FWACS, D. Ricaurte, MD, R. Orlando, MD, A. Kumar, MD, and J. Gates, MD. “A Connecticut Healthcare system’s Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic”. American Journal of Disaster Medicine, vol. 16, no. 3, Sept. 2021, pp. 195-02, doi:10.5055/ajdm.2021.0401.

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