Colorado Hospital Association and Colorado Hospitals Create Combined Hospital Transfer Center
GREENWOOD VILLAGE, COLO. – Nov. 4, 2020 – Colorado hospitals and health systems, in partnership with Colorado Hospital Association (CHA), have created the Combined Hospital Transfer Center (CHTC) to utilize if needed during Colorado’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations continue to rise in Colorado and across the country, CHA and its member hospitals and health systems recognize that it is essential to shore up certain elements of the health care delivery system for when the next COVID-19 surge fully arrives. The state’s modeling shows that if the current state transmission rate doesn’t change, Colorado could surpass hospitalization numbers from last April by mid-November.
The CHTC will be activated should the number of patients needing transfer exceed the capacity of the hospitals, and it will be a key component of Colorado’s surge plan moving into the winter. Transfers from the CHTC will be completed through a data-driven process that ensures patients can access the level of care needed while making the most efficient use of the health care system and protecting the system for future capacity challenges. In practice, a hospital that has reached capacity or cannot provide the needed level of care for a patient will call the CHTC, which will determine what hospital in the region/state can provide the appropriate level of care and has capacity, while also considering patient preference and proximity.
“There are a number of issues that CHA and Colorado’s hospitals have been working on to try to ensure that health system capacity is protected, supplies are available and that patients can go to the nearest hospitals knowing that the hospital will help ensure care is available,” said Darlene Tad-y, MD, CHA vice president of clinical affairs. “One of the best practices we learned from other states that have already responded to significant outbreaks was to stand up a statewide transfer center. This will allow us to respond rapidly to capacity issues that a city or region of Colorado may face and to ensure that we are fully utilizing the capacity of our state’s entire hospital system. Throughout the pandemic, Colorado hospitals and health systems have worked collaboratively to care for Coloradans, and the CHTC will further that effort if hospital capacity emerges as an issue.”
Colorado hospitals and health systems urge Coloradans to continue to do their part to help limit the current spread of COVID-19 by wearing their mask, washing their hands and watching their distance.
About Colorado Hospital Association
Colorado Hospital Association (CHA) is the leading voice of Colorado’s hospital and health system community. Representing more than 100 member hospitals and health systems throughout the state, CHA serves as a trusted, credible and reliable resource on health issues, hospital data and trends for its members, media, policymakers and the general public. Through CHA, Colorado’s hospitals and health systems work together in their shared commitment to improve health and health care in Colorado.
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