For Greenwich Hospital, A Feeling Of Elation

GREENWICH, CT—When the pandemic first hit more than a year ago, Greenwich Hospital became the epicenter for COVID-19 in Connecticut.

At one point in 2020, the 200-bed facility had a high of 126 COVID-positive patients, with over two dozen on respirators.

But now, after several months of vaccinations and improving numbers in Greenwich, Greenwich Hospital was treating five patients as of Wednesday, with zero in the Intensive Care Unit.

"It's a feeling of elation," said Anna Cerra, the hospital's chief nursing officer, during the town's weekly COVID briefing on Wednesday. "The fact that we don't have any patients in the ICU on a respirator is a very good feeling."

These days, operations at Greenwich Hospital somewhat resemble the days before COVID.

"While our COVID numbers continue to drop, our hospital is absolutely full and bursting at the seams," Cerra said, noting that the maternity ward has been especially busy. Over the past year, people remained wary of seeing doctors, but hospital officials have urged people to seek medical care for ailments and not to delay care because of the threat of COVID.

For Christina Rae, the hospital's nurse manager for the medical surgical ICU and intermediate care area, the feeling in the building is different than it was a year ago.

"We're very busy, but it's a different feeling of being back to a little bit more of business as usual, than it all being one disease process in a line of all vented patients or patients in various degrees of distress for the same disease process," Rae said. "It's very different. The staff is well-versed in how to care for their COVID patients when they happen, but right now we're seeing a bit of a return to other diseases and other illnesses."

Last week, the hospital was treating 10 COVID patients, so to see the number dip into the single digits within a week was nice to see for Rae.

"It's a relief," she added. "It's a relief to see the patients go home and see the very sick patients turn around and go home. That's super rewarding."

In the Emergency Department, there are signs of light at the end of the tunnel.

"We're back to seeing our normal patients, as opposed to the COVID patients [that would come in] one after another, after another," said Tim O'Keefe, RN, in the ED. "Seeing all the negative [COVID] results when we swab people in the ED is really encouraging and makes us feel good."