U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. Allyson Black (R), a registered nurse, cares for patients with COVID-19 in an intensive care unit (Intensive Care Unit) at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center on January 21, 2021 in Torrance , California. (Photo by Mario Tama / Getty Images)
PHOENIX – With the fall of Arizona’s winter wave, COVID-19, for the first time in months, the state’s largest hospital system will cautiously resume elective operations for the first time this year.
“Due to the downward trends we see in cases and hospitalizations, we have decided to partially resume elective operations at Banner Hospitals on January 25,” Dr. Marjorie Bessel, Banner’s clinical director, told a news conference on Friday. Health. .
“Surgery that can be resumed includes those that are outpatient and those that do not require more than one night’s stay without medical care.”
Banner stopped elective operations on January 1 amid rapid growth in COVID-19 cases and patients suffering from serious complications.
“Our hospitals will look a little different as we move forward to do some of these surgical procedures for patients who have already waited more than three weeks for the procedure,” she said.
Bessel said that depending on conditions, personnel and other factors, some Banner facilities may decide that it is better to continue the moratorium.
However, procedures classified as “elective” are still medically necessary, and delays can be dangerous.
“If they are postponed for too long, they could turn into emerging medical problems that require hospitalization or further care,” she said.
The number of hospitalized patients confirmed or suspected of COVID-19 at all hospitals in Arizona fell to 4,495 on Thursday, the lowest since December 28. The number of ICU beds used by COVID patients fell to 1,054, the second lowest since December 28.
The hospital’s growth, which began in early November and was overwhelmed by travel and gatherings during the Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year holidays, peaked on January 11 in more than 5,082 inpatients, including 1,183 in the ICU.
“We are very pleased to have a reduction in our hospitalizations,” Bessel said. “However, it requires us to remain vigilant because there is a lot of uncontrolled spread in our communities.”
Banner models predict a slower recovery from the current wave than occurred after the summer.
“We expect to reach hospitalization levels before growth, but not for another 10 to 11 weeks,” Bessel said.