Yale Health Center Acute Care Hours Update

December 8, 2022

Dear Yale Health Members,

One of the residual impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to be a national crisis in healthcare staffing. Many healthcare workers have left direct patient care or reduced the hours they work. Yale Health has experienced staffing challenges consistent with the national trends. Clinicians from our primary care team have covered overnight hours in Acute Care in an attempt to maintain our current hours and services. Reallocating these clinicians to fill in for vacant shifts in Acute Care has impacted primary care access for our members, while increasing burnout for our healthcare workers.

Yale Health leadership, in collaboration with our University partners, has evaluated many different scenarios and options, and concluded that eliminating overnight, in-person visits at Acute Care is the best initial option at this time to address these challenging issues. Limiting overnight hours will impact the fewest patients and services. The revised schedule addresses, in a practical way, the challenges of capacity and staffing and focuses resources on our primary care mission: to provide the best care to our members.

Effective Thursday, December 22, 2022, in-person Acute Care hours will change to 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., seven days per week. Note that RN telephone support will continue to be available 24/7 to provide triage and clinical guidance.

Below is an outline of the revised procedure for members in need of Acute Care after hours:

• Any Yale Health member in need of acute care from the hours of 10:00 p.m. through 8:00 a.m.  may continue to call Acute Care (203-432-0123) to speak with a nurse, who will provide triage and clinical guidance.
• An experienced RN will provide telephone triage in accordance with evidence-based protocols and advise you of the best way to obtain the care you need.
• Should you need to be seen between 10:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m., our first choice is always to use our preferred hospital network which is Yale-New Haven Hospital’s emergency departments:
  • Main campus, 20 York Street, New Haven
  • Saint Raphael Campus, 1450 Chapel Street, New Haven
  • YNHH Shoreline Medical Center, 111 Goose Lane, Guilford

However, in an emergency, when a patient’s life or safety is at risk, please call 911. In these cases, the responding EMS team may determine that an alternative location is necessary based on your care needs.  Remember, emergency care is always covered.

Yale Health will monitor the impacts of this change on patient care and satisfaction as well as the healthcare worker staffing challenges as the pandemic recedes. We will provide you with timely updates. If you have any questions or concerns regarding this change, please contact our Member Services team at (203) 432-0246 or member.services@yale.edu.

Your Yale Health Team