HARTFORD, Conn. — Connecticut's high COVID case numbers are putting additional pressure on the state's hospitals. Right now, Hartford HealthCare leaders say they are treating 485 people with COVID-19 across its system. Of them, 65 are in the ICU.
Health leaders say it's important to note some of those patients didn't come in because of COVID-19, but have tested positive.
"It does impact our hospitals and our colleagues significantly with the allocations of PPE and safety precautions and everything else," said Dr. Ajay Kumar, Chief Clinical Officer for Hartford HealthCare.
Hartford HealthCare leaders say the state is seeing a rise in cases, hospitalizations, as well as ICU and ventilator usage as the omicron variant spreads.
"If you look at our ventilator utilization like a pie, the majority of that pie is unvaccinated," said Dr. Ulysses Wu, Chief of Infectious Disease for Hartford HealthCare. "There's a small percentage of the pie that's vaccinated but not boosted but they have co-morbidities at this point."
Hartford Hospital is using 48 ventilators in the ICU right now, but leaders stress they have plenty of capacity.
While hospitals are dealing with an influx of COVID patients, so far this surge is seeing less severe disease.
"This surge is different from the first and the second surge," said Dr. Kumar. "We have more tools, we have more knowledge, we have more wisdom about how to manage the disease."
What they are dealing with this time are concerns surrounding fatigue among staff. Hartford HealthCare leaders said employee wellness is something they're monitoring around the clock.
RELATED: Gov. Lamont signs executive order requiring booster shots for long-term care facility employees
Meanwhile, leaders said they are trying to meet community needs by ramping up testing, setting up trailers to increase capacity.
A testing trailer opened Friday at Saint Vincent's Medical Center in Fairfield County despite the snow, and they're hoping to have seven sites within communities in the next week or so.
"We're doing somewhere around 4,000," said Dr. Jim Cardon, Chief Clinical Integration Officer with Hartford HealthCare. "Thirty-thousand tests a week, 4,000 a day. This will increase our capacity by another 1,000 a day."
The update comes just after Gov. Ned Lamont, alongside Connecticut hospitals, announced hospital employees will be required to get booster shots.
Hartford HealthCare leaders said so far, 55 percent of their health care workers have already received the extra shot in the arm.
Jenn Bernstein is an anchor at FOX61 News. She can be reached at jbernstein@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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