While Kent Hospital is prepared to meet a surge in COVID-19 cases with a unit isolated from the rest of hospital, Dr. James Fanale, president and CEO of Care New England Health System, questions whether the system can acquire sufficient tests to operate effectively.

It’s not that the tests aren’t available. It’s that other institutions have bought them.

Speaking at the Thursday meeting of the Rotary Club of Warwick, Fanale said Care NE and Lifespan are seeing a 50 percent decline in testing because, “schools are buying test kits, colleges, universities have sports teams, and they’re paying top dollar because you know why they can.”

So, Fanale said he fears hospitals could end up not having enough tests to test every hospital patient.

“We are not sure where this is going to go,” he said.

Apart from the need for tests, Fanale said Kent is prepared to handle a surge in the virus should that occur. He said Kent has the needed PPE, or personal protection equipment, including gowns and face masks, as well as ventilators, medical staff and – with the conversion of a hospital wing to an isolated unit for 50 – the space to maintain regular operations while addressing an increase in COVID cases.

He said the challenge could be the flu season with an increase in respiratory diseases resulting in an influx of patients and the need to identify and isolate those with COVID-19. Fanale said the system has built the capacity to handle an increase in respiratory patients.

In addition, he pointed out that with conversion of the former Citizens Bank building in Cranston and the Rhode Island Convention Center in Providence into field hospitals, the state is prepared. He noted that at the time those conversions were undertaken, projections were that the state could see as many as 6,000 COVID hospitalizations.

Care NE played the lead role in building out the conversion of Citizens to a 335-bed hospital fully negative pressurized so as to contain the air and with oxygen and other systems to operate virtually on its own. Neither the Citizens building nor the Convention Center have been used, but Fanale said it was nonetheless the right thing to do. He feels at this point both facilities are not needed as reserves and one should be decommissioned.

Fanale said the Kent staff identified the first case of the virus in the state. He said a patient reported to the emergency department with significant respiratory systems.

“Our staff immediately thought that’s what it was,” he said.

He said they prepared by properly suiting up and recommended the patient be admitted. The patient said he wasn’t that sick. The Department of Health was alerted, but Fanale said they doubted Kent’s diagnosis since the patient had not been in China but Italy.

“It’s not China. Don’t worry about it,” he said.

Thirty-six hours later, the patient was admitted to Miriam Hospital and the first case of Rhode Island coronavirus was confirmed.