Colorado hospitals partner to create Combined Hospital Transfer Center 

ENGLEWOOD — The Colorado Hospital Association and its partners around the state have created the Combined Hospital Transfer Center program to activate if needed during the ongoing COVID-19 spike.

“The CHTC will be activated should the number of patients needing transfer exceed the capacity of the hospitals, and it will be a key component of Colorado’s surge plan moving into the winter,” according to a CHA news release. “Transfers from the CHTC will be completed through a data-driven process that ensures patients can access the level of care needed while making the most efficient use of the health care system and protecting the system for future capacity challenges. In practice, a hospital that has reached capacity or cannot provide the needed level of care for a patient will call the CHTC, which will determine what hospital in the region/state can provide the appropriate level of care and has capacity, while also considering patient preference and proximity.”

In a statement, CHA vice president of clinical affairs Dr. Darlene Tad-y said, “There are a number of issues that CHA and Colorado’s hospitals have been working on to try to ensure that health system capacity is protected, supplies are available and that patients can go to the nearest hospitals knowing that the hospital will help ensure care is available.”

She added: “One of the best practices we learned from other states that have already responded to significant outbreaks was to stand up a statewide transfer center. This will allow us to respond rapidly to capacity issues that a city or region of Colorado may face and to ensure that we are fully utilizing the capacity of our state’s entire hospital system. Throughout the pandemic, Colorado hospitals and health systems have worked collaboratively to care for Coloradans, and the CHTC will further that effort if hospital capacity emerges as an issue.”

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