Coronavirus In Minnesota: M Health Fairview Reassessing If It Can Perform Elective Surgeries
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Twin Cities hospitals are preparing for a surge of patients in the coming weeks. St. Paul's Bethesda Hospital is already close to capacity for treating the sickest coronavirus patients.
M Health Fairview is adding units dedicated to COVID-19 patients at its St. Joseph's and Southdale hospitals. Those hospitals will still have full emergency departments as well as mental health inpatient services. When they open will depend on how quickly more people need specialized care.
Despite the expansion, M Health Fairview also tells us they're looking ahead to hopefully doing more elective procedures soon.
The say before any big steps can be taken though, they need to have more COVID-19 testing kits and an adequate supply of PPE for workers and patients.
"We continue to postpone surgeries and procedures only if they are nonessential and can be delayed without negative consequence to patients. We will continue to assess whether it is appropriate to delay a surgery or procedure, or when it might be medically necessary. Our providers continue to ensure patients have a care plan while they wait for their procedure to be rescheduled," an official statement from M Health Fairview said. "This is resulting in a significant negative financial impact on hospitals throughout the country. It is the right thing to do in order to protect our patients and staff from potential exposure and to preserve supplies, equipment and staffing for the most urgent and time-sensitive patient needs. We have delayed procedures on approximately 4,000 patients. The result is a $30 million loss in revenue per week."
