Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com • May 18, 2020 • Hartford Business Journal 23 OPINION & COMMENTARY OTHER VOICES Sports can help lead economic rebound from COVID-19 pandemic By Bill Field S ports, thought by many to be trivial and the last thing we should be concentrating on during the pandemic, are truly important. Sports are a series of never-ending interwoven threads that are part of the mosaic of many of our lives, both nationally and internationally. Sports essen- tially faded to dark on March 12, here in the U.S. Many interna- tional countries were canceling their beloved soc- cer games at the same time. Ball fields went silent and ice rinks were melted, with no assurances of coming back in the near future. Today, one's need for a sports "fix" can't be satisfied. The appeal of old- time classic reruns only lasts so long as the outcome has already been determined. Gimmicks like NBA players compet- ing in shooting or video games fall flat. Fans want the real thing with winners and losers and box scores to pore over. Sports have tentacles that reach deep into the economic engine of the world economy. Hundreds of thousands of people are employed in the sports industry from ticket tak- ers to multimillion-dollar athletes, and even wealthier team ownrs. TV networks rely on games to reap advertising revenue. Bars and restaurants reap the benefits of pre-, during- and post-game festivities. Sports have led the way out of dark periods in our country before. Thanks to the vision of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, baseball continued through- out World War II and made significant contributions to the war effort. On Sept. 21, 2001, 10 days after the terror attacks on the World Trade Centers in New York City, Mets catcher Mike Piazza's two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth in- ning provided a small dose of healing for a city rebounding from tragedy. Few things in life bring people togeth- er more than the love for their teams. Want further proof that the nation is starved for sports as folks ride out the quarantine in their bunkers that house big-screen TVs? ESPN's "The Last Dance," a 10-part documentary series about the NBA's illustrious Chi- cago Bulls championship team, drew a huge following, doubling a previous ESPN "30 for 30" series ratings record. Meantime, the first round of the NFL draft had ratings that were 40% higher than any previous year. Sports as a salve for a nation that's been shaken to the core is much needed at this time. We need to lose ourselves watch- ing a game and not think about economic fallout or grim death statistics. The economic benefits of the industry go hand-in-hand. Sports have power over so many of us. It brings us together. We forget about racial or economic divides. It's anything but trivial or frivolous as some suggest. My take — sports have never been more needed, both socially and eco- nomically. I'll be waiting to hear the two words I love best in the world of sports, "play ball." Bill Field is the founder of FieldActivate, a Connecticut-based marketing firm. OTHER VOICES The unintended consequences of 'stay at home' campaigns By Reginald Eadie H ospitals across the country have responded quickly and appropriately to the demands of the coronavirus. In an effort to mitigate the spread of the novel coronavirus, a significant number of states ordered their resi- dents to stay home. Additionally, busi- nesses, communities and healthcare organizations flooded digital and tradi- tional media outlets with messages like, "I stayed at work for you. You stay at home for us!" and "Wheth- er or not you have COVID-19, stay home." To better understand the impact of this messaging, we have the responsibility to drill down with further questions that have data-supported answers. We can start by asking ourselves, how did Americans interpret these messages? Emergency departments in areas impacted by COVID-19 have seen sub- stantial declines in visits. In some loca- tions, the reported decline in urgent and emergency visits is as high as 50%. In the state of Connecticut, emergen- cy department visits were, at one point, down by 43%. At one Connecticut hos- pital, the number of discharges during a 30-day period starting March 15 for five life-threatening illnesses — includ- ing heart attack, heart failure, stroke, appendicitis and gallbladder disease — showed a decline ranging from 43% to 72% when compared to the same 30- day period in the previous year. This data, showing such unprec- edented and significant declines, leads to the next important ques- tion: Are Americans staying at home for the wrong reasons? Dr. Syed Hussain, chief clinical officer at Trinity Health Of New England, said that based on historical data, "we are aware that Connecticut residents desperately need medical attention for non-COVID related ill- nesses, and yet are staying home." With this large decrease in life- threatening hospital visits, it raises the question: Are people suffering with illnesses while staying home? Moreover, does this translate into an increase in at-home deaths? According to NPR, New York City officials said more than 2,192 residents died in their homes during a two-week period starting in late March, com- pared to 453 at-home deaths during the same period a year earlier. I wanted to collect more data, so I went straight to the source: funeral homes. I spoke with Howard Hill, the owner of Howard K. Hill Funeral Ser- vices located in Hartford, Bloomfield and New Haven, who told me he saw a 166% increase in at-home deaths dur- ing a 30-day period from March 15 to April 15, compared to a year earlier. To compare New York and Connect- icut with another state, I contacted Major Clora Jr., president and director of the Clora Funeral Home in Michi- gan, who revealed that his COVID-19 at-home removals increased 150% during that same 30-day period. These increases in at-home deaths are stunning and in my opinion clearly show that community mem- bers listened to the "stay at home" messages they heard. I also think it leads us, as a nation, to ask the most important question: Do the significant decreases in hos- pitalizations for these five serious illnesses and the increase in at- home deaths suggest another public health crisis is on the way? Reginald Eadie is the president and CEO of Trinity Health Of New England. Reginald Eadie Bill Field

• Cover