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n e w h a v e n b i z . c o m | J u n e / J u l y 2 0 2 0 | n e w h a v e n B I Z 5 T R E N D I N G : B e y o n d t h e H e a d l i n e s Feeling blue: Town-gown marriage on the rocks? COVID crisis a killer for hospitals' bottom line M U N I C I PA L P O L I T I C S "I think we have some work to do." at's how New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker recently characterized the relationship between town and gown. For three centuries the city and Yale University have coexisted in a state of uncomfortable equipoise. Sometimes they're like two scorpions in a brandy snier — the cause of riots in 1824 and 1968. Other times they find ways to work together for mutual benefit, as they did during the 1994-2013 détente when Rick Levin and John DeStefano ran Woodbridge and City Hall, respectively. e city and Yale are in one of those silent-but-deadly phases now. Since he took office Jan. 1, Elicker has insisted that the tax-exempt university (whose $30 billion endowment makes it the second-richest private university) pay its "fair share" to help its financially strapped host city. Practically since it relocated to New Haven in 1716, the school has made it clear that it will never, ever pay taxes. Instead it pays voluntary tribute in the form of PILOT payments to the city — some $120 million since 1990. e COVID crisis exacerbated the already frosty relationship. In March aer Yale sent students home indefinitely, the university brushed off the city's request to house first-responders in now-empty residential spaces — a PR disaster for Yale. Shortly thereaer Yale President Peter Salovey wrote to the Yale community asking for gis to the Yale Community for New Haven Fund, a COVID- assistance initiative in partnership with the United Way and Community Foundation for Greater New Haven that had a $5 million fundraising goal primed by Yale's $1 million cash gi. e law-enforcement reckoning following the May 25 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis touched New Haven in early June as activists (including Yale students) called for the dismantling of the 93-member Yale Police Department, upon which many city businesses depend for safety and security. But hope springs eternal: e city's Board of Alders in early June approved a budget that included a $2.5 million increase in Yale's "voluntary" payment to the city — an increase to which the university did not agree and is not obligated to pay. Good luck with that. n — Michael C. Bingham H O S P I TA L S & H E A LT H C A R E Y ou might think a global health crisis would be a financial boon to hospitals. e coronavirus pandemic has had the opposite effect. Marna P. Borgstrom, CEO of the Yale New Haven Health system, has said the crisis may in the end result a $500 million op- erating loss in its budget without expense mitigation. e pandemic's financial impli- cations are evolving, Borgstrom said, and the losses may be higher. e health system includes not only Yale New Haven Hospital but Bridgeport and Greenwich Hospitals, Lawrence+Memorial Hospital in New London and Westerly (R.I.) Hospital. While the health system received some $200 million in federal funds, some in the form of loans and some for deficit mitiga- tion, it hasn't been enough to cover the anticipated losses. e biggest reason for the finan- cial losses? While hospitals have had more COVID-19 patients to treat, other patients, such as those with cancer and heart problems, have stayed away, worried about catching the virus themselves. at avoidance and the post- ponement of surgeries and proce- dures has meant lost revenue. At one point, Borgstrom estimated YNHH was losing $1.5 million a day. YNHH suspended or reduced certain elective surgeries in mid- March, but continued emergency surgeries all along. In recent weeks, it has been phasing in more surger- ies, starting with the most urgent. In mid-May, health system officials reported performing only about 20 percent of the typical number of surgeries. Before the pandemic, the system typically operated at over 90-per- cent capacity. As of mid-June, patient capacity had rebounded to about 66 percent, according to Borgstrom. Hospital officials say patients with the most urgent needs, such as heart and cancer patients, have returned for care. ose who need care for other specialties, such as pediatrics and orthopedics, have been slower to return, however. It is a situation faced by hos- pitals around the state. e giant YNHH system is better positioned to withstand the crisis than some small community hospitals, such as 160-bed Griffin Hospital in Derby. Griffin also paid for renovations to handle coronavirus patients, and saw non-COVID patients stay away. Griffin has had to institute staff furloughs to save money. According to the Connecticut Hospital Association, its members may lose a combined $1.5 billion in the current fiscal year. What the future holds for area hospitals remains to be seen. It largely depends on the future of the pandemic, if the trend of returning patients continues upward, and whether federal and state governments will help fill the financial gaps. n — Michelle Tuccitto Sullo Phelps Gate on College Street is the closest thing the Yale campus has to an official entrance. These days it's locked.

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