By Richard Kaufman
Sentinel Reporter
As other states around the country are seeing a surge in coronavirus cases, Connecticut has continued to make progress, especially in the town of Greenwich.
As of Tuesday, July 14, just one COVID case was being treated at Greenwich Hospital. At the beginning of this month, the hospital had zero positive patients for the first time since March. At one point during the peak of the pandemic, the roughly 200 bed facility housed over 120 patients.
“Connecticut is fortunate to be among the few states that do not show signs of rebound at this time,” said Greenwich Hospital president, Diane Kelly. “But we must remain vigilant because the virus still poses a serious threat. I’m optimistic people will continue to wear masks, maintain a social distance and wash their hands frequently. These behaviors can significantly impact community spread of the virus.”
Overall in town since the pandemic began, as of Wednesday, there have been 858 Greenwich residents who have tested positive, an increase of eight since July 8. There have been 51 COVID-related resident deaths.
First Selectman, Fred Camillo, said he’s proud of the way Greenwich residents have responded over the last few months.
“While I’m extremely proud of them, I do have to remind them and myself that we’re not done with this yet. We’re still battling it,” Camillo said. “We have to continue to build on what we’ve done, and also make sure that while we return to some semblance of normalcy with the nice weather here and enjoying all the nice amenities Greenwich has to offer, that we just have to do so in a very safe fashion.”
The lessons the town has learned since March are valuable as the summer months roll on and fall comes closer. The virus can turn on a dime.
“We just don’t want that happening here. Our town and our state has done extremely well, but like everything else in life, there’s no guarantee that will continue,” Camillo added. “That’s why it’s the job of every elected official to keep reminding people of the protocols we have in place, and sometimes put in place policies that may not be as popular at the time, but certainly ones that you feel you need to have in place because you’d rather be safe than sorry.”
Greenwich Hospital remains prepared for the possibility of another surge in cases.
“We have the capabilities now to safely expand the number of patients we care for with COVID-19 without interrupting services to patients who do not have the virus,” Kelly said. “We plan to open a new, separate unit to treat patients with infectious diseases such as COVID-19 in the fall thanks to a gift from a generous donor.”
All inpatient and outpatient services, surgical procedures, diagnostic imaging, laboratory work and other healthcare services at the main Greenwich Hospital campus and offsite locations in Connecticut and New York have resumed.
Kelly said welcoming patients back the last several weeks has been “wonderful.”
Since the pandemic began, people have been wary of seeing their doctor or going to the hospital for treatments because of the coronavirus. Kelly urged individuals to seek healthcare because any delay can lead to serious complications and advanced stages of disease that are more difficult to treat.
“The hospital has prioritized safety more so than ever with new measures to protect patients and staff, all done with guidance from Yale New Haven Health,” Kelly said. “For example, patients who do not have the virus are treated in separate units by different care teams than those who have tested positive for COVID-19 or are awaiting test results. Every patient admitted to the hospital or arriving at the Emergency Department is tested for COVID-19. All staff, visitors and patients must wear a mask.”
Additionally, visitors and patients have their temperatures taken and must answer questions about symptoms before entering any Yale New Haven Health facilities. Other safety measures have been put in place.
“We reduced the number of people allowed in elevators and waiting rooms; installed plastic barriers between patients and some staff; and added social distancing signs and stickers at check-in locations and the cafeteria,” Kelly added. “We also use advanced cleaning and disinfection processes on all medical equipment, highly touched surfaces and frequently trafficked areas. Hand sanitizer stations are available throughout the hospital and patient rooms go through a deep cleaning.”
The town has reopened almost everything, with the exception of playgrounds, which Camillo said he hopes to address shortly.
He noted that parents in town have reached out to him because they want their children to be able to play outside.
“I’ve had to remind them that we just cannot monitor them like we do lots of other things. We only have so many people out there in the field,” Camillo said, mentioning the idea of adding signage to alert playground users about safety protocols.
“I’m not a big fan of having too many signs around town, but we’re going to have to remind them that when they bring their kids there, they’re going to have to bring wipes with them to clean before and after usage. If they can do that, I think we’re going to be just fine,” Camillo said.
Earlier this week, the Greenwich Board of Education presented a first draft of school reopening plans for the fall. Plans must be submitted to the state by next week.
While the Board of Education and Greenwich Public Schools are separate from Camillo’s job as the town’s chief elected official, he said he’d like to see students back in the classroom in some capacity as more is learned about the virus and a safe system with protocols is put in place.
“I think it’s very healthy not only for the kids to be in that learning environment, but also to be in an environment where they can socialize. I think it’s critical to a child’s growth,” Camillo said. “I don’t want to get out of my lane, but I certainly from a personal point of view would like to see the kids back in school on some type of a normal, consistent basis.”
