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May 14, 2020 HEALTH CARE

Facing steep financial losses, YNHH works to restore non-COVID revenue streams

Marna P. Borgstrom, CEO of Yale New Haven Health speaks to the media in an online press briefing Wednesday.
By Michelle Tuccitto Sullo

The number of COVID-19-related hospitalizations has continued to decline, and Yale New Haven Health officials said this week they are scheduling procedures which were postponed due to the pandemic.

When the hospital system saw an influx of patients with the virus in recent weeks, surgeries that could wait were put on hold — as they were for health systems across much of the country.

“We are looking at how we start reintroducing procedures which people put off because of COVID-19,” said Christopher O’Connor, executive vice president and chief operating officer with YNHH, during a press briefing Wednesday.

Asked if the health system has a specific timeline and which surgeries will resume first, O’Connor said it will likely differ from facility to facility.

The health system includes not only Yale New Haven Hospital but Bridgeport and Greenwich Hospitals, Lawrence + Memorial Hospital in New London and Westerly Hospital in Rhode Island.

According to O’Connor, the health system is triaging which cases represent the highest priority. He gave an example of a cancer patient who may have been able to delay surgery for a time, but now, it is more pressing to move forward.

“It is a broad array of procedures to ensure we are caring for patients in the best way possible,” O’Connor said. “Who are the patients who can no longer afford to delay their care?” 

YNHH suspended or reduced elective surgeries at all of its facilities on March 19. Officials have reported fewer patients coming in for treatment of conditions such as heart attack and stroke, possibly due to anxiety about getting the virus.

While the hospital has continued to do emergency surgeries all along, it is phasing in surgeries which are needed to ensure a patient’s survival, but didn’t need to be performed immediately.

Additionally, the hospital system is starting to move forward with screenings needed to keep people healthy, according to O’Connor.

“We want to have more mammography and screenings to detect undiagnosed disease in people,” O’Connor said. 

Marna P. Borgstrom, CEO of Yale New Haven Health, said the hospitals have been doing about 20 percent of the system’s typical number of surgeries.

This has had a significant financial impact on the health system, according to Borgstrom, who said the management team currently believes there will be a $300 million to $350 million swing in the system’s budget projections, taking it from an operating gain to an operating loss. Last week, Borgstrom estimated YNHH was losing $1.5 million a day due to the postponement of elective procedures.

When asked if she anticipates layoffs or furloughs, Borgstrom said these aren’t in the plan right now.

Calming anxieties about seeking care

Hospital officials noted how non-COVID patients have been staying away. O’Connor acknowledged how people may be cautious for some time about returning for care, and officials want to help alleviate these fears. 

“We appreciate the anxiety people may have about [coming for treatment],” O’Connor said.

The hospital system has put COVID-19 patients in separate areas of its facilities, and has personal protection equipment to reduce chances of virus exposure, officials said.

“The thing that concerns all of us the most, is if people don’t feel comfortable coming to a health-care environment,” Borgstrom said. “We need to assure the public we can care for both COVID and non-COVID patients.”

COVID-19 hospitalizations continue to drop

Borgstrom said Wednesday the entire system is continuing to see a decline in virus-related hospitalizations.

As of Wednesday afternoon, YNHH had approximately 480 in-patients across all its facilities. At its peak, the system had an estimated 800 beds filled.

YNHH to date has admitted and treated more than 3,100 COVID-19 patients, and 2,338 have been discharged. Approximately 430 patients have died.

Borgstrom cautioned that the crisis isn’t over.

“The reflection of what we are seeing is in large part due to people’s social isolation compliance,” Borgstrom said. 

As for Gov. Ned Lamont’s announcement about more businesses starting to open as of May 20, Borgstrom said she is “impressed with the thoughtfulness that has gone into” the phased reopening.

“They want to make sure we have adequate capacity [to care for future patients],” Borgstrom said. “Assuming there is no widely available vaccine in nine to 12 months, every model we have seen suggests an increase [in COVID cases] later in the year.”

Contact Michelle Tuccitto Sullo at msullo@newhavenbiz.com.

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