Heading to the office? Health officials give advice

Photo | Michael C. Bingham Yale New Haven Hospital.

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By Michelle Tuccitto Sullo

As the number of coronavirus cases in Connecticut continue to decrease, more employees will be heading back to their offices.

How do you stay safe? And is it ok to be alone in your office with the door closed and no mask on?

Thomas Balcezak, MD, executive vice president and chief clinical officer with Yale New Haven Health, said if you are going to be within six feet of another employee, be sure to have a mask on.

“If you are in an office by yourself with the door closed, then no, you don’t need a mask on,” Balcezak said.

Balcezak and Marna P. Borgstrom, CEO of Yale New Haven Health, participated in a Zoom press conference from their respective offices Wednesday morning. Both were alone in their offices, with their doors closed and no masks.

“Do everything you can to be separated from people,” Balcezak said.

If you can do a meeting by videoconference instead of in person, then do it, Balcezak recommends.

“If employees are coming back to work, any physical barriers are good - including plexiglass shields and requiring masks,” he added.

COVID-19 numbers dropping

The Yale New Haven Health system was down to 25 COVID-19 patients across the entire system as of Wednesday.

This included 14 patients with the virus hospitalized at Yale New Haven Hospital, seven at Bridgeport Hospital, three at Greenwich Hospital, one at Lawrence+Memorial Hospital in New London and none at Westerly (R.I.) Hospital.

“We have seen a significant decline,” Borgstrom said. “On April 21, our peak day, we had over 800 patients with the virus. Compared to where we were before, we are fortunate, but we shouldn’t have a sense of complacency.”

As of Tuesday, Gov. Ned Lamont reported 47,530 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Connecticut, with 66 patients hospitalized and 4,372 deaths.

Even with numbers down in the state, Yale health officials cautioned that Connecticut could see an uptick, especially considering how other states are seeing surges.

“Connecticut has a lot to be proud of, that we continue to see a reduced number of cases,” Balcezak said. “We all need to continue distancing and mask wearing.”

Borgstrom said the health system will continue to ensure it has capacity to handle COVID patients if the numbers go up again.

Long road to financial recovery

Hospitals around the state, including Yale New Haven Health, have reported negative financial impacts due to the virus. This has been due to expenses such as buying personal protective equipment and converting hospital space to care for COVID patients. Additionally, many non-COVID patients stayed away, though non-COVID business has been returning.

“We have to be mindful that it will take a while to recover,” Borgstrom said. “There was a tremendous loss of revenue, because (non-COVID) patients didn’t want to come in. We would like by the end of the year to be back to pre-COVID volumes, though I’m not sure if that is realistic.”

When questioned about the possibility of layoffs or furloughs, Borgstrom indicated she hopes to avoid that route.

“We don’t want to do any layoffs or furloughs,” Borgstrom said. “I can’t say never, but it’s not in our plan now.”