NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) – COVID patients getting treated at the five hospitals in the Yale New Haven Health System are now at 487. It was a little over 600 a week ago.
There is also a slight increase in the number of kids — treated for pediatric multi-system inflammatory syndrome. Five cases of pediatric multi-system inflammatory syndrome are now reported at Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital.
One patient was treated and released. The other four are under critical care. Efforts to figure out the science behind a possible link to COVID-19 is underway.
Chief Clinical Officer Dr. Tom Balzecak says, “It follows we think, infection with the SARS COVID-2, the virus that causes COVID19.”
Symptoms of the rare syndrome include high fever, rash, swelling and pink like eyes.
“What these patients suffer from is an overwhelming inflammatory response, possibly driven by the patient’s own immune system,” says Dr. Balzecak.
Hospital procedures and admissions put on hold due to the pandemic have slowly begun system wide.
Christopher O’Connor, Yale New Haven Health COO, says “We are testing every one of our ambulatory surgery patient that is coming into our facilities to ensure we are cohorting and caring for them appropriately.”
Yale New Haven Health is working with the state as it ramps up testing. Patients, health care workers top the list, also high risk areas.
“We are working with some of the federally qualified health centers in New Haven and with the City of New Haven and the city of Bridgeport to try and make use of community resources so we can make testing sites more available to where people live,” says Yale New Haven Health CEO Marna Borgstrom.
Like other hospital systems – Yale New Haven Health is also feeling the economic impact of COVID. Borgstrom admits losses will grow.
The focus right now she says is ‘rethinking innovatively’, instead of furloughs as a solution to a budget issue.
