The Utah Hospital Association COVID-19 Chief Medical Officer (CMO) workgroup shared guidance on May 29 to further reopen surgical procedures and services across the state. Some health systems have reopened surgical procedures at different paces and hospitalization levels continue below capacity.
Intermountain Healthcare has taken a very careful approach. We always provide emergency and medically necessary services, and two weeks ago began providing nonurgent surgical services to patients who do not have confirmed or suspected COVID-19 and who are otherwise healthy. Nonurgent surgical procedures had been postponed at the start of the pandemic. Our safety measures have helped support community health as our state, businesses, and organizations cautiously transition to a “new normal.”
Our next step is to broaden the group of individuals receiving nonurgent surgical procedures. We are now scheduling patients who have chronic illnesses or preexisting conditions for their nonurgent surgical procedures starting June 8. “Out of an abundance of caution, systemwide guidance around preoperative screening, preoperative testing, personal protective equipment (PPE) use, and facility visitors will not change,” said Rob Ferguson, Intermountain senior medical director for surgical operations. “This will support safety for all our patients and caregivers while enabling a higher-risk group to now receive important surgical interventions.”
We’ll continue postponing nonurgent procedures for patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19. Postponing care for active cases helps protect the safety of caregivers and other patients, and also supports patient outcomes. Worldwide, surgical procedures in patients with confirmed COVID-19 have seen worsened outcomes and are associated with higher morbidity and mortality rates.
We’re fully aligned with the state’s guidance, and will assess individual surgical needs to provide safe, appropriate interventions at the right time and location for each patient. We’re now comfortable reopening surgical services for a broader population of patients where we can safely do so. Our PPE and other supplies, staffing and Employee Health assistance, hospital and ventilator capacity, transfusion products, testing capacity, and pharmaceuticals currently support this expansion in care.
Local facilities will make decisions in the best interest of their caregivers and patients and in alliance with the state’s CMO workgroup. We will closely monitor the situation and remain agile to postpone any procedures that can’t safely be done at this time, or move patients to other facilities if certain locations become at risk for a local surge. Provider and caregiver teams can reference the Surgical Services decision aid for additional guidance, as well as the Reopening Clinical Care and Services Guidance website to access information on clinical services, visitor guidelines, and patient instructions.
Thank you for your commitment to the COVID-19 response and to all the important needs of our patients, communities, and care teams.
Intermountain Healthcare has taken a very careful approach. We always provide emergency and medically necessary services, and two weeks ago began providing nonurgent surgical services to patients who do not have confirmed or suspected COVID-19 and who are otherwise healthy. Nonurgent surgical procedures had been postponed at the start of the pandemic. Our safety measures have helped support community health as our state, businesses, and organizations cautiously transition to a “new normal.”
Our next step is to broaden the group of individuals receiving nonurgent surgical procedures. We are now scheduling patients who have chronic illnesses or preexisting conditions for their nonurgent surgical procedures starting June 8. “Out of an abundance of caution, systemwide guidance around preoperative screening, preoperative testing, personal protective equipment (PPE) use, and facility visitors will not change,” said Rob Ferguson, Intermountain senior medical director for surgical operations. “This will support safety for all our patients and caregivers while enabling a higher-risk group to now receive important surgical interventions.”
We’ll continue postponing nonurgent procedures for patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19. Postponing care for active cases helps protect the safety of caregivers and other patients, and also supports patient outcomes. Worldwide, surgical procedures in patients with confirmed COVID-19 have seen worsened outcomes and are associated with higher morbidity and mortality rates.
We’re fully aligned with the state’s guidance, and will assess individual surgical needs to provide safe, appropriate interventions at the right time and location for each patient. We’re now comfortable reopening surgical services for a broader population of patients where we can safely do so. Our PPE and other supplies, staffing and Employee Health assistance, hospital and ventilator capacity, transfusion products, testing capacity, and pharmaceuticals currently support this expansion in care.
Local facilities will make decisions in the best interest of their caregivers and patients and in alliance with the state’s CMO workgroup. We will closely monitor the situation and remain agile to postpone any procedures that can’t safely be done at this time, or move patients to other facilities if certain locations become at risk for a local surge. Provider and caregiver teams can reference the Surgical Services decision aid for additional guidance, as well as the Reopening Clinical Care and Services Guidance website to access information on clinical services, visitor guidelines, and patient instructions.
Thank you for your commitment to the COVID-19 response and to all the important needs of our patients, communities, and care teams.