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DENVER (KDVR) — Hospitals in Colorado are preparing for enhanced coordination as emergency rooms brace for a COVID-19 surge. A new patient transfer center has been established to help manage hospital capacity, according to the Colorado Hospital Association (CHA).

The center is not a physical location. It is a virtual communication center billed as a new way to coordinate space and resources quickly. It’s being called the Combined Hospital Transfer Center (CHTC).

“The situation in a hospital is very dynamic,” Dr. Darlene Tad-y explained. “I’m not talking on a week-to-week or day-to-day basis. I’m talking about an hour-to-hour basis.”

Tad-y is the vice president of clinical affairs at CHA.

Hospitals facing capacity will be able to quickly sound an alarm and be matched with hospitals that have more empty beds. Resources can also be pooled and shared.

If the current transmission rate doesn’t change, Colorado could surpass April hospitalization numbers in just two weeks, according to the association.

While CHTC has been launched to prepare for patient transfers, it has not yet been activated.