HPP Funds Used to Deploy Mobile Field Hospital in Connecticut

Connecticut
Spring 2020

Background:

In FY 2019, the Connecticut Department of Public Health (CT DPH) used HPP funds to establish a relationship with the CT Military Department (CTMD) to support training and operations related to the deployment and maintenance of CT's Mobile Field Hospital (MFH). While the 100-bed MFH had been available for over a decade, CT DPH initiated this formal relationship with CTMD to assist with its operations and better support the state’s health care system in response to man-made and natural disasters.

Response Activities:

Over the past year, the DPH has provided funding to the CTMD to train the CT Horse and Foot guard and deploy the MFH upon request from a hospital or in the event of an emergency. The MFH is deployable as a flexible configuration of four 25-bed units that operate jointly or independently to provide triage and treatment anywhere in the state. It can also support an acute care hospital after a catastrophic structural or mechanical failure. The CTMD has provided the department with a standard operating procedure (SOP) that describes the process for deploying the MFH upon request.

Impact:

In the spring of 2020, CT deployed the MFH to four hospitals as alternate care sites to expand surge capacity across the state as part of the response to COVID 19. CT will continue to use HPP funds to further the relationship between the DPH and CTMD and strengthen MFH operations. Strengthening this relationship ensures for a more organized, efficient, and rapid deployment of the CTMD in the event of an emergency.