BOISE, Idaho — Like almost everything else, hospitals have been forced to postpone appointments and elective surgeries.
Jennifer Misajet, VP of Operations at Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise, says they started doing some surgery appointments the week of April 20. Now, they are working on plans to slowly ramp that up.
“On March 17th we really took a pause. We have only been doing urgent emergent surgeries since then,” Misajet said. “We are ready to evaluate if we can start doing some elective procedures again, so we are in that evaluation process.”
RELATED: Harvard study: Idaho is one of 19 states that is testing enough to reopen the economy by May 1
The goal moving forward is to utilize the outpatient surgery center located on the Boise campus.
“We think we can safely start to ramp up and do some of those surgeries for our patients that have been postponed now for about six weeks,” Misajet said.
Teams at Saint Alphonsus know many people want to get in, but for now, the hospital has to be selective.
“We are trying to prioritize the people that are waiting and might have the most compromise by waiting longer because we’re not assuming that people got better. So, we are trying to prioritize who might really benefit from surgery first and put those patients in line,” Misajet said.
Misajet explains that they continue to weigh concerns about future COVID-19 spikes when scheduling elective surgeries.
“We are also looking at patients who need things, long ICU stays, or some of the (personal protective) equipment that we are really carefully watching. If those cases can still be postponed, we might have those wait a little bit longer if they are going to use ICU resources or things that might be needed if we have a surge,” Misajet said.
If you are trying to figure where your surgery appointment fits in with all of this, Misajet says it really depends on the individual patient.
“For some of those people that can have outpatient surgery and go home the same day, we’ve started scheduling some of those procedures in that day surgery center,” Misajet said.
For those going in for surgery, Saint Alphonsus has made it a priority to keep them COVID-free.
“We make sure that they are COVID tested so they are negative when they come in, and we are able to provide a COVID-safe environment in that department with separate entrance, separate exit, separate staff,” Misajet said.
Idaho COVID-19 latest: Latest news | Map of confirmed Idaho cases | Gov. Little’s plan to reopen Idaho in stages | Stay-at-home order details | COVID-19 resources | Testing sites | Employers hiring | Essential business list | Closings | School closings | Help nonprofits| Golf info | Full COVID-19 coverage
So, when will things be back to normal?
“I don’t think we will go back to what we might think of now as the good old days," Misajet said. "We always will have to put workplace controls in from here going forward to really make sure that the patients coming in for elective procedures are in a safe environment."
We reached out to St. Luke’s to find out where they are at with elective surgeries, they responded with the following statement:
“St. Luke’s continues to perform emergency and urgent surgeries as needed. At this time, St. Luke’s does not have a specific date when additional services will be expanded. We are assessing our readiness to slowly begin elective surgeries, procedures and clinic visits against criteria that allow us to ensure safe care, a safe environment, PPE conservation and continual readiness to respond to potential waves of COVID-19 activity. For St. Luke’s to do this, it continues to be essential that the public follow social distancing guidelines, wash their hands frequently, wear masks when in public, cover their coughs and sneezes and stay home if they feel sick.” – Anita Kissee, Public Relations Manager
West Valley Medical Center sent us the following statement Thursday:
"West Valley Medical Center in Caldwell has started rescheduling surgeries and procedures which were previously postponed in line with COVID-19 precautions. Our facility is a safe place to receive this care. We are vigilant when it comes to sanitation, screening, visitor restrictions, masking, as well as all guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Our access to resources and our commitment to safety protocols has us uniquely prepared to reintroduce these services. Please remember that emergent healthcare needs unrelated to COVID-19 should not be ignored during this time. Our Emergency Room is ready to care for all patients."
RELATED: 'It just takes a toll': Chaplains comfort medical staff, connect isolated patients with loved ones
Join 'The 208' conversation:
- Text us at (208) 321-5614
- E-mail us at the208@ktvb.com
- Join our The 208 Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/the208KTVB/
- Follow us on Twitter: @the208KTVB or tweet #the208 and #SoIdaho
- Follow us on Instagram: @the208KTVB
- Bookmark our landing page: /the-208
- And we also turn each episode into a podcast on Spotify or Podbeam
- Still reading this list? We're on YouTube, too:
At KTVB, we’re focusing our news coverage on the facts and not the fear around the virus. To see our full coverage and the latest COVID-19 case numbers, visit our coronavirus section here: www.ktvb.com/coronavirus