Hartford HealthCare Cardiologists Play Important Role for Student-Athletes Recovering from COVID
“Lauren Anastos had an interesting introduction to college life last fall. Two days after arriving on the Connecticut College campus in New London to begin her freshman year, her roommate tested positive for COVID-19. Three days after that, Lauren was also positive.
The soccer player from Hull, Mass., was moved immediately into on-campus isolation housing, where she lived for 10 days as she rode out her illness. She primarily suffered from extreme exhaustion, headaches, sore throat, and severe body aches. A nurse checked in by phone twice a day and provided items like cough drops and honey for her sore throat as needed. The college provided meals, and if she felt well enough, Lauren attended her classes online. After she recovered, she was allowed to move back into her dorm.
But she was not allowed to return to soccer practice or work out until she was cleared by the Hartford HealthCare medical team, which included a cardiologist. Protocols set up by the NCAA governing college athletes who become sick with COVID include careful cardiac testing to ensure their hearts have not been damaged by the disease. A side effect of COVID can be myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle. Myocarditis commonly presents with severe shortness of breath on exertion, chest pain and cardiac arrhythmias.
Connecticut College’s brand new partnership with Hartford HealthCare as part of the Campus Cares program meant that Lauren — and all student-athletes diagnosed with COVID — had access to top-notch practitioners during her recovery. For her cardiac exam, she worked with cardiologists from the Hartford HealthCare Heart & Vascular Institute based at the Mystic HealthCenter. Lauren had an EKG and then an ultrasound of her heart to ensure she was ready to go back to practice.
HHC CAMPUS CARES
Connecticut College and Hartford HealthCare were in talks for some time about the healthcare provider taking over student health services on campus as part of its Campus Care program. It just so happened that by the time the t’s were crossed and the i’s were dotted last July, the state was in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
No one involved even skipped a beat, however, and by the time students returned to the New London campus in late August and early September, the transition was complete.
Under the partnership, Hartford HealthCare took over operation of the college’s student healthcare and urgent care. Three nurse practitioners employed by HHC provide services on campus, and students have access to Hartford Healthcare’s extensive roster of specialists and services. Hartford HealthCare is not involved in the college’s COVID testing and tracing program, but does provide care for any students who test positive or who have been exposed to someone who tests positive.
“It’s been going great,” said Janet Spoltore, director of student counseling and health services at the college. “Hartford HealthCare has been a wonderful partner. They add depth to our services, including comprehensive healthcare and outside referrals as needed.”
With the implementation of the program, students on campus are able to utilize Hartford Healthcare’s TeleHealth service, having medical appointments online from their dorm rooms. The campus clinic is open weekdays. After hours and on weekends, students have access to free Uber rides to Hartford Healthcare’s GoHealth Urgent Care located just down the hill from campus.
“We are thrilled to be working with Connecticut College,” said Donna Handley, president of Backus and Windham hospitals. “This unique partnership is a great opportunity to provide students and student athletes with our expert providers on campus and throughout Eastern Connecticut.”
Connecticut College is the third secondary school in the state to join the Hartford HealthCare’s Campus Care program, which delivers healthcare through the schools’ student health services department, making connections to specialists in the healthcare system when needed. This latest affiliation capitalizes on HHC’s expansion of services in southeastern Connecticut.
Services include overall health, sports health, behavioral health, neurology, substance use disorder treatment, musculoskeletal care, education and student engagement.
Spoltore said when the college began considering outsourcing its health services, “we took a careful look at the model of care. Hartford HealthCare proved to be efficient, effective, and costeffective. Our students are receiving superb care.”
BACK TO TRAINING, SLOWLY
Lauren was cleared to return to the soccer team at the end of September, but even then it was a slow, gradual come back. (Connecticut College fall teams did not compete because New England Small College Athletic Conference cancelled fall sports. But teams continued to practice.)
“Slowly was the right thing,” Anastos said. “When I first got back, I didn’t realize how much it took out of me. After my first workout, I needed a nap right away. But I am back to 100 percent now.”
“Without this partnership, we would have been trying to get students in to see cardiologists we had no prior relationships with,” said Mo White, director of athletics at Connecticut College. “With the partnership, we had such timely responses to every request. Between the expertise of the Hartford HealthCare cardiologists and their sports medicine team, there has been tremendous teamwork. I can’t imagine going through this without them.”
Fortunately, young people tend to do better with COVID and have fewer cardiac issues compared to older patients, but we want to be very careful with student-athletes. As an athlete, you would have an increased risk of collapsing, or even sudden death, if myocarditis went undetected.
Connecticut College Director of Sports Medicine John Heck said the new partnership with Hartford HealthCare has gone far beyond caring for COVID-positive student athletes. He said the sports medicine team and the general health services are communicating better than they have in the past, because they are both under the HHC Campus Cares umbrella.
Additionally, he said having access to Hartford Healthcare’s network of trainers, nutritionists and registered dieticians has been a huge benefit, as injuries that require specialists are treated immediately, and athletes who demonstrate issues with diet such as eating disorders are put into treatment right away.
Christina Martinelli is manager of athletic training services for HHC’s Rehabilitation Network. She’s the one holding the umbrella over sports medicine and general health services at Connecticut College.
“Based on their needs and their expectations, I’m the one who provides the connections and taps them into the networks they need,” Martinelli said. “I’m the gatekeeper, but I also empower them to collaborate. With COVID, athletes’ health isn’t separate from everyone else. Now they have to rely on each other to make it work. It’s my job to bring the information to all sides.”
This pandemic has taught us so much about how the body fights the virus and how it affects the entire system, including the heart. We are appreciative of the relationship the Heart & Vascular Institute has with Connecticut College because it allows us the opportunity to work with student athletes such as Lauren, which has been a rewarding experience.