CRH phases in certain elective procedures

A view of the Columbus Regional Health sign by the driveway leading to Columbus Regional Hospital in Columbus, Ind., pictured, Tuesday, March 31, 2020. Mike Wolanin | The Republic Mike Wolanin

Columbus Regional Health has started phasing in certain elective procedures that had been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic after Gov. Eric Holcomb issued an executive order allowing hospitals to resume the procedures.

Currently, CRH is focused on ramping up procedures that are deemed “critical” for patients’ health, meaning that their health could be adversely affected if the procedure is not done, CRH spokeswoman Kelsey DeClue said Monday.

CRH officials plan to monitor patient load at the hospital and how the COVID-19 pandemic evolves over the next couple of weeks before attempting to scale up other non-emergency procedures that had been canceled or postponed.

With the first phase, CRH officials estimate that the hospital system will be at around 20% of its procedural capacity, DeClue said.

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“We’re focusing on critical and necessary procedures that may have been put off. Under the first mandate we were really just regulated to those very urgent needs, emergency surgeries and emergency services and COVID-19 patients,” she said.

The next phase will involve medical procedures that could be surgeries or diagnostic imaging. “Any of those that are critical medical needs that if not conducted could have an adverse effect on a person’s health,” she said.

On Friday, Holcomb signed an executive order that allowed health care providers and facilities to resume elective medical procedures as of Sunday at 11:59 p.m. if they had “sufficient quantities of personal protective equipment.” The facilities included in the order were hospitals, veterinarians and dentists, among others.

Holcomb had previously ordered of elective and non-urgent procedures canceled or postponed as of March 30.

In mid-March, CRH had announced that it would cancel all elective, non-urgent surgeries and procedures in order to meet the health needs of potential COVID-19 patients, protect against exposure and potential spread, and to ensure that medical resources are readily available, CRH officials said in a previous interview.

CRH officials will be contacting patients to reschedule procedures that had been canceled or postponed, DeClue said.