HARTFORD, Conn. — An official with Hartford HealthCare says there are still “weeks,” to go in the fight against COVID-19.
During a Monday press briefing, Dr. Ajay Kumar, the chief clinical officer for the HHC system, said staff is treating about 400 COVID-19 positive patients. As of Monday, Dr. Kumar said there are 159 patients at Hartford Hospital, 82 patients at St. Vincent’s, and nearly 100 patients who are waiting for test results.
According to Dr. Kumar, more than 200 patients have recovered, but he reiterated his expectation that the peak in Connecticut is likely to come by late April or early May.
“At this time, we’re still not out of the woods. We still have some weeks to go. Continued testing, continued work on social distancing remains paramount of our strategy at this time as we continue to manage this crisis,” said Dr. Kumar.
Dr. Kumar said given the bad weather Monday, testing had been cancelled at drive-thru sites.
“As you know, they are makeshift tents, and it can create an unsafe situation especially in a high, windy area,” Dr. Kumar said.
According to Dr. Kumar, staff from HHC reached out to patients who had been scheduled for testing Monday. Dr. Kumar said those appointments would be rescheduled once the weather settles down.
Also on hand at Monday’s briefing was Sean Trainor, a flight nurse and paramedic for LifeStar. Trainer spoke about the role LifeStar is playing in the pandemic, including a recent event in New York, which required dozens of patients to be evacuated from a hospital earlier this month.
“We evacuated Jamaica Hospital, which had a problem with their oxygenation system,” Trainor explained. With assistance from other helicopters, Trainer said they were able to evacuate 28 patients to other hospitals.
Dr. Kumar also spoke about the transformation of the Connecticut Convention center into a makeshift hospital. The Connecticut National Guard set up the space over the weekend. Hartford Healthcare would use the space for COVID-19 patients.
“They could be patients who are recovered from the acute hospital setting and looking for the next place to go and there may not be a safe place for them to go,” said Kumar. “They could be patients with mild symptoms, but we’re hoping to create a capability of advanced care as well.”
