SCSU, WCSU Athletic Facilities Converted into Mobile Hospitals; CSCU Institutions Donate PPE

Southern Connecticut State University’s Moore Fieldhouse and Western Connecticut State University’s O’Neill Center are being transformed today into mobile hospitals to assist with the anticipated surge of patients affected with COVID-19. Yesterday, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) dropped off supplies at Southern and the Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security dropped off supplies at Western. Today the Connecticut National Guard is staging the gymnasiums for use as health care facilities with 250 beds at Southern and 200 at Western.

“Connecticut State Colleges and Universities and its institutions are proud to be part of Governor Lamont’s crisis response team,” Connecticut State Colleges and Universities (CSCU) President Mark Ojakian said. “This pandemic is unlike anything we have seen before, and combatting it will require all hands on deck. Our public colleges and universities are part of the solution, not only providing space for mobile hospitals, but also providing housing space for health care workers, and donating tens of thousands of units of personal protective equipment to those on the front lines of fighting this disease. We will continue to do everything in our power to assist the state in this critical time.”

“As a public institution dedicated to the pursuit of social justice, Southern is committed to helping the state mitigate the spread of COVID-19,’” said SCSU President Joe Bertolino. “With hundreds of graduates from our College of Health and Human Services on the front lines fighting the pandemic, it was a natural step for the university to make our facilities available during the duration of this public health crisis. 

SCSU has also made nine residence halls and 2,500 rooms available for emergency use . They are expected to be ready by the end of the week.

“This is an excellent example of WCSU fulfilling its role as a leading member of the community,” said WCSU President John B. Clark. “While our major mission is to educate our students, we are also mindful that we are here to support the broader community. Consequently, we are committed to do whatever we can do to beat the COVID-19 pandemic.”

CSCU is working closely with state partners to assist with emergency response efforts. Currently, residence halls at Central, Eastern, Southern, and Western Connecticut State Universities are expected to be utilized. At this time, the expectation is that those halls will be used to house emergency medical personnel and non-critical COVID-19 patients.

In addition to making space available, institutions within CSCU system have stepped up in a big way, donating personal protective equipment (PPE) to local hospitals and frontline health care workers. At most recent count, CSCU has donated 211,925 gloves,  12,209 masks, 2,184 gowns, and 15 ventilators. A full breakdown of CSCU’s donations is below.

“I could not be more proud that at the same time they are providing the highest quality education to students, albeit in a remote setting, our colleges and universities are playing a role in the state’s response to COVID-19,” President Ojakian concluded. “Donating PPE is the least we could do to support our heroic health care workers – many of whom are graduates of our public colleges and universities.”

Central
Total Gloves Combined, 50,125
Total Masks Combined, 1,130
Total Gowns Combined, 152

Eastern
Total Masks Combined, 1,200

Western:
Total Gloves Combined, 400
Total Masks Combined, 1,550
Total Gowns Combined, 174

Charter Oak:
Total Gloves Combined, 1,800
Total Masks Combined, 21

Tunxis:
Total Gloves Combined, 15,600
Total Masks Combined, 838
Total gowns, 60

Middlesex:
Total Gloves Combined, 25,300
Total Masks Combined, 560

Norwalk: 
Total Gloves Combined, 15,000
Total Masks Combined, 919
Total Gowns Combined, 130
Total Ventilators Combined (on loan), 3

Three Rivers: 
Total Gloves Combined, 5,700
Total Masks Combined, 2,000
Total Gowns Combined, 189

Northwestern:
Total Gloves Combined, 15,100
Total Masks Combined, 1,890
Total Gowns Combined, 211

Manchester:
Total Ventilators Combined (on loan), 6

Gateway:
Total Gloves Combined, 3,400
Total Masks Combined, 164
Total Gowns Combined, 152

Housatonic:
Total Gloves Combined, 300
Total Masks Combined, 200
Total Gowns Combined, 120

Naugatuck Valley:
Total Gloves Combined, 28,400
Total Masks Combined, 200
Total Gowns Combined, 510
Total Ventilators Combined (on loan), 6

Quinebaug Valley:
Total Gloves Combined, 23,100
Total Masks Combined, 525
Total Gowns Combined, 85

Capital:
Total Gloves Combined, 27,700
Total Masks Combined, 1,012
Total Gowns Combined, 406

CSCU SYSTEM TOTALS:
Gloves: 211,925
Masks: 12,209
Gowns: 2,184
Ventilators: 15