Connecticut Children’s Medical Center furloughed 400 workers because of the coronavirus outbreak, which has caused elective and other surgeries to be delayed and the number of patients to decline, according to officials with the Hartford-based medical system.
The furloughs are for 60 days and affect about 14 percent of the system’s workforce of 2,800, according to medical center spokeswoman Monica Buchanan. The furloughed employees are expected to be able to return to their jobs, maybe by early June.
Patient volumes have declined by about half amid the outbreak, costing the medical center $7.5 million to $9 million a month, officials said.
The medical center has had about a dozen patients with COVID-19 symptoms, far from the volume at other hospitals. One patient, and no staff, has tested positive for the disease, Buchanan said.
The medical center is offering to accept children from other hospitals to help them free beds to treat adults with the coronavirus disease.
For most people, the virus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death.
