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

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.