NewHavenBIZ

www.HartfordBusiness.com • April 27, 2020 • Hartford Business Journal 25 CONNECTICUT HEALTH CARE: LEADERSHIP IN A TIME OF CRISIS Dear Business Leaders: During this unprecedented time, there is no end to the things that have surprised and delighted me. The most pleas- ant surprises have come from our community. I am humbled by the generous donations from so many businesses from all over the state to Yale New Haven Health. I've heard so many stories of our fellow citizens and companies donating Per- sonal Protection Equipment (PPE), food and places for respite to our staff statewide. Recently, I heard that we have received over 750,000 donations of PPE — some of which were hand- made! On behalf of the entire health system, I am so deeply grateful to our communities and citizens. I am also grateful that so many of our citizens are heed- ing the state and federal legislators and staying home as well as maintaining an appropriate physical distance when they must be out in the community. With all your efforts, we are finally seeing a flattening of the number of new cases of COVID-19 — which hopefully means that the early dire pre- dictions of disease incidence and impact on the healthcare delivery system won't be realized. What I am most thankful for, however, is our Yale New Haven Health employees and medical staff who are working tirelessly to help us all get through this. From the physicians, to the nurses, nursing assistants and respiratory therapists to the food service workers keeping everyone fed, and the environmental service staff who are keeping everything clean and sterile, 24/7. The work never ends. We will get through this and find our new normal. Hopeful- ly that new normal will include a continuation of interesting healthcare utilization behaviors that have emerged during this crisis that could have a significant impact on bending the healthcare cost curve permanently. A month ago, there were occupied beds lining every hallway in our Emergency Departments. For those admitted patients, the wait to get to an inpatient bed was sometimes measured in days. Today, there are open treatment bays and no wait for a bed. The "worried well" aren't using emergency services and those pa- tients who are, truly need to be there. Second, is the adoption of telehealth. Many clinicians and patients have resisted it for a long time. Now it is the primary means of "seeing" patients who need to consult a physician. In the meantime, for who want advice or have questions, we have teams of world-class caregivers who staff the Yale New Haven Health COVID-19 call center and guide patients through the COVID crisis daily. We have received over 58,000 calls from all over the world since the middle of March and those wonderful professionals remain available to us all at 833-ASK-YNHH (833-275-9644) 7 days a week, 7 am—7 pm. Until we get past this COVID-19 crisis, we should take comfort in the knowledge that our staff are, and will continue to be, here for all of us. As we do everything in our power to keep them safe, they are doing everything in their power to care for people who need their care, compassion and exper- tise. I have never been more proud to work with this wonder- ful Yale New Haven Health team. Sincerely, Marna P. Borgstrom Chief Executive Officer, Yale New Haven Health ynhh.org | p: (833) 275 9644

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