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On June 10, national expert on pandemics and public policy Professor Howard Forman, MD, MBA, FACR, Professor of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Public Health (Health Policy), Management, and Economics at Yale University, spoke to Connecticut Hospice staff about COVID-19.
Professor Forman answered questions on a variety of topics relevant to professional practices and personal lives during the pandemic.
“It is possible that we are going to live the rest of our lives with a pandemic in some way, shape or form, and we are going to have to acclimate to that. Think about everything you do, and mitigate the risk as much as possible. To think we will never go out or attend family functions and gatherings would probably be ridiculous, but we should all avoid crowded, enclosed, indoor spaces or functions".
"Every single thing you do comes with some heightened risk. The thing that reduces your risk is decreasing mobility and not interacting with anybody and that’s just not how we’re going to be able to live our lives”.
The two practices he emphatically emphasized are wearing a mask always, and testing.
“If no vaccine is available I believe that testing is equivalent. If I could provide you with a $5 - $10 instant test for coronavirus that was highly sensitive, that you could do every day, you would basically eradicate this and have no problem of spread. And if we did this on a wide scale in the United States for a period of time we would stop this”.
Professor Forman stated the belief that testing will be scaled up and cheap enough for widespread implementation in the next six months.
Ideally, he said, “If you are home with someone vulnerable, test often”.
On the subject of pre/asymptomatic spread by a COVID-positive person, he confirmed that there is a documented two-day window before symptoms show when you can infect others.
“It is impossible to know if you are pre-symptomatic. Your assumption should always be at any given point in time that you might be infected – you just may not have symptoms yet”.
While his warnings are sobering, he concluded that with proper protection – wearing masks, frequent hand-washing, constant adherence to social distancing guidelines and avoiding crowded settings – your risk can be greatly mitigated.
Watch the entire session here:
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the Medical Director at Connecticut Hospice, Dr. Joseph Sacco, has kept staff and volunteers well-informed of policy changes, PPE protocols, local and national COVID-19 data, and much more, through a “Daily Update” email.
He has also tested staff frequently for coronavirus to ensure a safe environment for all, and helped to care for non-COVID and COVID-positive patients alike, with his colleagues on the Interdisciplinary Team.
Some of the most appreciated and morale-boosting gestures he has shared with staff in his Daily Updates are the jokes and contests he has inserted at the end of each email.
A recent Haiku contest drew entries from almost every department of this non-profit organization - Nursing, Dietary, IT, Security/Building Services, Arts, Medicine, Social Work, Volunteers, Business office, & Administration. No subject was off-limits, although the COVID crisis was clearly on many minds. To read the entries, scroll below.
More recently, Dr. Sacco invited Connecticut Hospice staff to submit photographs on the theme “Beauty in Adversity”.
Window visits, at work and at home, were one recurring theme; social isolation featured prominently too. But love, family, humor and resilience were in strong evidence throughout.
We invite you to enjoy some of the submitted photographs, and may you find your own beauty in adversity.
Got both my gloves on
Ignoring my ear rug burn
Caused by my tight mask
Helping families
Supporting dying loved ones
Through their hardest times
I am leaving earth
Skies are calling me to go
My nurse lifts me up
My nurse blesses my
Last breath as I float away
No pain, only love
There was a big tree
That was in the blue ocean
We love that big tree
We will live to fight
That dreaded Covid nineteen
We will hug again
Our workers need masks
So who are you gonna call
Gonna call Batman
Dress in blue scrubs again
Think about some jewelry. Nah.
Lipstick on a pig.
Wash your hands, be safe
Put on a face mask people
Social distance now!
Patience takes hard work
Humans need much more practice
Smiling helps a lot
Gloomy rainy skies
Give way to sunny weather
I want summer heat
This too shall pass then
We will celebrate our work
Each other our caring
Can’t keep my mouth shut
The filter has big holes
Orange looks good on me
Another day home
Yet one more day staying home
Flattening the curve
Three days in the past
Or three days in the future
Fourteen days from then
alone a woman dies
fever ablaze yet pallid
breath halts then expires
Bud, breeze, buzz and bloom
Harken to our higher self
Faith in renewal
My feet in the sand
A frozen drink in my hand
Please bring on summer
In a world ablaze
We cry for our leaders help
The silence deafens
Touch my cheek softly
Say goodbye without weeping
Heaven awaits me
Fearsome pandemic
Exceptional caring folks
Clouds will part some day
Row, row, row our boat
Covidly down the stream, Life
Is NOT but a Dream
Homeschooling my kid(s).
Home care patients need me, too.
Remember to breathe.
Need toilet paper...
#askingforafriend
Charmin or Scott, Please?
Trip to London, nope
The high school musical, nope
First time to prom, nope
Zoom, zoom happy hour
One drink tastes good going down
Two, three even more
History and background of Haiku poetry
Using humor to cope with stress
How nature can restore your health
Ways to maintain your creativity and mental health
Have you seen Beauty in Adversity too? Capture what that means to you in a photograph and send it to us to share on this page. Do you love to compose haiku poetry? All photos and haikus must be your own work, must be copyright free, and you agree that there will be no financial liability to Connecticut Hospice or its employees if your entry is displayed.
Send photos and haikus to Director of Arts Katherine Blossom at [email protected]
June 11, 2020 was the 46th Anniversary of the date when construction of America’s first hospice facility, Connecticut Hospice, was approved by the Connecticut Commission on Hospitals and Health Care.
The anniversary was recognized by the Office of the State Historian and CTHumanities in a feature article for Today in Connecticut History entitled "A Breakthrough in Compassionate Care for the Terminally Ill".
On Wednesday afternoon, May 27, the frontline caregivers of Connecticut Hospice were honored by a visit from the Thank You Tour.
Members of the Branford Fire Department, who also attended the tribute, stood to attention as a fifty-foot American flag was raised high into the air overlooking Long Island Sound.
The Thank You Tour is the brainchild of K & J Tree Service, who has put their large crane to good use during the coronavirus pandemic by visiting hospitals around the state to honor all frontline health care workers.
The display at Connecticut Hospice’s inpatient hospital in Branford also featured a giant “Thank You” sign on another of their trucks. Hand-held flags were given to all the staff who came outside to enjoy some sunshine, and those who were on duty inside with their patients waved from windows and balconies.
From the lobby, a patient and her family engaging in a window visit and FaceTime call, assisted by Connecticut Hospice Social Work and Arts staff, enjoyed the proceedings while they chatted.
The event was a memorable respite from the challenging circumstances being endured by individuals, families, healthcare organizations, communities and the nation.
It became a welcome chance to recharge batteries, honor each other, and remember the power of unity and purpose.
A great way to bring Nurses month to a close!
To see the flag-raising and some of our amazing staff enjoying the event, watch this short video:
To find out more about Thank You Tour events, click here: Thank You Tour events
Connecticut Hospice was fortunate on the May 27 Town Hall to enjoy the partnership of world-renowned epidemiologist and Dean of the Yale School of Public Health, Sten Vermund, MD, PhD, in educating its staff.
Dr. Vermund shared his wisdom with Connecticut Hospice staff on COVID-19 protections for health care workers and their families, answering questions on a live Zoom conference, and covering a wide range of topics, including –
With permission from Dr. Vermund, we are pleased to share the entire session with you. We hope you will find this conversation interesting and informative, and we are sure you will glean some insights and reassurance from his knowledge.
Read Dr. Vermund’s bio here:
Read more about Dr. Vermund’s work here:
The World Health Assembly has designated 2020 the International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife to honor of the 200th anniversary of Florence Nightingale's birth and to advance nurses' vital role in transforming health care around the world.
National Nurses Week begins each year on May 6th and ends on May 12th, Florence Nightingale's birthday.
Connecticut Hospice is fortunate to have some of the best nurses anywhere. This has been true since our founding days almost fifty years ago, when far-seeing nurses set out to introduce the tenets of hospice care that exist today.
As years have passed, our nursing staff have built on those principles with a body of experience and knowledge that is second to none. Whether they are caring for patients in their homes (Hospice Home Care, Palliative Care at Home/Stand By Me) in another facility, or in our inpatient hospice setting (Inpatient Care, Inpatient Palliative Care), they bring excellence and dedication to all our hospice and palliative care patients and families.
This week we honor and applaud our nurses, particularly as they work under additional pressures brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. As Ann Kurth, Yale's Dean of Nursing, writes -
“They deliver up to 80% of all services. They provide care with scientific evidence, expertise and empathy. They are a constant in the patients’ journey through this illness, inspiring confidence at the beginning, delivering attention throughout, and providing a compassionate presence as the sickest of their patients succumb.”
We have adorned the windows of our lobby with the names of the Nurses of Connecticut Hospice, as we do every year in recognition of their individual contributions to the excellence of our institution. Many visitors to the building every May in years past have asked whose names are displayed – sometimes imagining that they represent a patient memorial, but no - these are our own heroes.
We ask you to join us in thanking our tireless, expert, empathetic and steadfast care-giving colleagues, as we thank nurses everywhere at this time. If you wish to send a message of thanks or encouragement to our nurses, the heart of our organization, please email to [email protected] and we will make sure it reaches them all.
Further Reading
Op-Ed by Ann Kurth, Yale Dean of Nursing: We will need nurses to get us through COVID-19 - and the next pandemic
Some lighter reading: History of white nurse uniforms
As a not-for-profit, we depend on generous donors to help us provide customized services and therapies that aren’t completely covered by Medicaid, Medicare, or private insurance.
Please make a gift to help us sustain the highest standard of care.
Admissions may be scheduled seven days a week.
Call our Centralized Intake Department: (203) 315-7540.
