Governor Lamont has formed the Governor’s Health System Response Team, which will consist of the CEOs from three of Connecticut’s largest hospital systems: Hartford HealthCare, Nuvance Health, and Yale New Haven Health.

The team, in coordination with the Connecticut Hospital Association and the state’s other hospitals, will be responsible for advising the governor, the Department of Public Health and the rest of the state’s Emergency Support Functions in the Unified Command structure on the proper allocation and distribution of needed resources, supplies, and personnel, throughout the duration of the public health emergency.

This group has already been consulting on a regular basis with the Lamont administration prior to the confirmation of the first positive case in the state, and that work will provide the foundation of the plans and actions as the state’s health care system handles an expected surge of COVID-19 cases.

Nuvance Health CEO Dr John Murphy says the task force represents a collaboration that all hospitals in the state are now taking, regardless of their affiliation, especially when it comes to personal protective equipment.  They're actively sharing information that they ordinarily wouldn't have shared in the past.  Murphy says this allows them to collectively address problems that previously would have been done so independently.

Lamont says the state got another delivery from the feds of 111,000 N95 masks and 146,000 surgical masks.  He notes that 50 ventilators have been promised, but not yet delivered.  Lamont says FEMA diverted some PPE supplies because the state had a three day supply on hand.  But Lamont says the feds shouldn't make that judgement because the situation is changing on the ground by the hour.

Murphy talked about the average time a coronavirus patient is on a ventilator.  The average for patients at Nuvance hospitals is about 13 days, half of what it was in China, which was 4 weeks.

The number of health care professionals who have registered with the state to volunteer their services has doubled over the weekend, reaching a total of 2,079 people who have notified the state expressing interest in volunteering. On Saturday, Governor Lamont released a PSA  asking health care professionals – including students and those who are retired – to register with a state database administered by the Department of Public Health, and their services will be matched with Connecticut medical facilities in need. Those interested in volunteering can register online at ctresponds.ct.gov.