Hackensack Meridian’s Garrett: COVID-19 pandemic ‘disruptive force’

Listen to this article

“I’ve been a health care leader for 35 years but I have never seen anything like this.”

That’s how Hackensack Meridian Health’s Chief Executive Officer Robert Garrett responded at a press conference Thursday afternoon alongside Gov. Phil Murphy and Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli.

“This pandemic is by far the most disruptive force that I’ve ever seen in our health care system. We are literally engaged in a global war with the COVID-19 coronavirus.”

Garrett said that health care workers are on the front lines of everything that is happening.

“We must understand that we are in this for the long haul. This will tax our clinical and human resources like we have never seen them tested before,” said Garrett.

He said that the Hackensack Meridian network has already seen 121 positive patients—78 currently at hospitals as inpatients with another 500 patients awaiting test results.

Hackensack University Medical Center, the system’s flagship hospital, has treated more than 60 COVID-19 patients to date and that number is growing.

“There are extraordinary efforts underway in hospitals across New Jersey, and for that matter across the nation, to fortify operations. The capacity issue will continue be a problem and that’s just not in terms of the total number of beds it is also about ICU bed capacity as this crisis continues to grow,” said Garrett.

Health systems throughout the state are postponing non-emergency surgery procedures including Hackensack Meridian, said Garrett.

“This is actually increasing our capacity by about 20 percent. If you think about it, it allows us to re-deploy staff for example OR [operating room] nurses that can now get re-deployed to the emergency department or to an ICU [intensive care unit] or to a patient floor where they are needed to take care of patients.”

Garrett said hospital systems are working to coordinate resources and room availability, which he noted, is important because hospitals expect an increase in cases as more testing becomes available.

“Behind the heroes that are in scrubs, the command centers at hospitals across the state have an army of experts that are working literally 24/7 – epidemiologists, internists, supply chain experts and people coordinating closely with the DOH and the CDC.”

Garrett said that they are marshaling resources from hospital to hospital, updating staff on protective gear, and closely tracking cases and capacity.

“Our health systems in New Jersey are seeing staffing shortages due to the significant number of doctors and nurses who are quarantined due to potential exposure.”

At HMH there are about 150 health care professionals that are in quarantine situations.

Garrett said that significant supply shortages are anticipated, including for personal protective equipment and ventilators. He applauded the federal government’s initiative regarding the Defense Production Act to ramp up manufacturing capacity.

“We need this national call to action to dramatically increase manufacturing capacity to provide the amount of PPE necessary to support our frontline team members. The decisions and investments that we are making today will absolutely save lives over the coming weeks as we see an increase in steady cases.”

Garrett said that he was glad to see the governor call for 500 additional beds that he said would be needed.