Posted on 04/21/2020 4:48:30 PM PDT by lightman
UPMC said Tuesday the predicted surge of COVID-19 patients hasn’t arrived and cases are on the decline in central and western Pennsylvania.
In light of that, UPMC plans to resume some of the elective surgeries that were canceled as the result of government directives to conserve beds and supplies for COVID-19 patients.
“The very high surge we prepared for simply hasn’t happened,” said Dr. Donald Yealy, UPMC’s chair of emergency medicine.
However, state Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said Tuesday that while the state has begun talking to hospitals about resuming some surgeries, “we’re not there yet.”
RELATED: Read all PennLive coverage of the coronavirus here
Of 5,500 beds in the UPMC hospital system, only 2% are occupied by COVID-19 patients, as are 8% percent of intensive care beds, according to Yealy, who also said UPMC has strong supplies of protective equipment such as masks, shields and gowns.
The 118 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 at UPMC hospitals are “not a significant increase from last week,” he said.
Yealy further said the rate of positive coronavirus tests done through UPMC hospitals has dropped to 6.6 percent, down from 12 percent earlier in the pandemic, another sign the coronavirus threat is declining in areas served by UPMC.
Moreover, UPMC has been hearing from patients who delayed surgeries related to things such as heart conditions or cancer, and is “not comfortable with the disruption in care this has caused for people who don’t have COVID-19,” he said.
He said the surgeries that will be resumed might be called non-urgent because they are done on a scheduled rather than emergency basis, but are “essential” to people waiting for them.
Yealy said the expansion of surgeries is within federal guidelines and UPMC has notified Gov. Tom Wolf and Levine.
But it’s not clear whether UPMC’s plans will conflict with the priorities of Wolf and Levine, who continue to cite potential for an overwhelming surge and shortages, and to urge people not to relax social distancing and other steps to prevent spread of the disease.
Asked about resuming elective surgeries during her daily briefing on Tuesday, Levine said the administration has begun discussing it with hospitals and their state association. “We’re not there yet but we’re having active discussions,” she said.
Early in the crisis, hospitals all over the country were directed to cancel elective surgeries to conserve beds and supplies for COVID-19 patients.
Elective surgeries are a major source of profit for hospitals. Hospitals say the loss of revenue, combined with the cost of preparing for the coronavirus, is taking a devastating financial toll that could cause some to close.
Both Pennsylvania and the federal government have directed some money toward addressing the loss.
Asked about financial motives on Tuesday, Yealy said he couldn’t speak for the business side of UPMC, but the impetus toward resuming some elective surgeries “came from doctors and patients and not in response to a business concern.”
UPMC said it will continue to closely monitor the prevalence of coronavirus and will adjust as needed.
Discussing the impact of COVID-19, Yealy noted UPMC has discharged 130 COVID-19 patients. “That’s very good news. People are recovering, even those who were very sick,” he said.
Civil disobedience comes in many forms.
Raising a middle finger salute to Tommie the Commie and the he/she/it mentally unhealthy Health Secretary
Ping.
I will tell my grand nephews about this time in history. And they will ask me did you get the virus? And I will say no. They will ask me if any of my family got it. And I will say no. They will ask me if any of my friends got it and I will say no. They will ask me if I knew anybody who got it and I will say no.
And then they will throw things at me and walk away.
I understand there are likely people that I know that had it and just didn’t show symptoms.
which makes it something to be taken seriously I understand but it’s certainly not the black death
great news...hopefully more providers to follow.
UPMC one of the best health systems in the country - they know their business, gov’t does not.
there’s gonna be a huge surge for elective surgeries soon, gonna need all that PPE (and furloughed health workers!)
ELective surgeries will resume in Oklahoma on Friday. Now if only Gov. Stitt will let some restaurants and hair salons re-open, he’ll have fans for life from all parts of the family unit.
Bada bing!
Good news. You always plan for the worst and hope for the best. This is obvious.
Last Thursday, I was in the emergency room of my local hospital which is part of the Saint Luke’s University Health Network (Pennsylvania). The (male) nurse I spoke with told me that normal patient loads in the ED are 120-150 per day, it is now around 30-40 patients per day. They have a tent like structure that was set up to take care of any overload. It has gone unused.
My daughter works for the Lehigh Valley Health Network, one of the smaller units but right smack in the middle of one of PAs C-19 “hot spots”. There is no sense of panic there, why? because most of the critical cases are nursing home patients.
It is clear as day that Gov. Wolfe wants to see every PA resident broke and homeless.
yeah. and our near empty hospital is now furloughing people, all except for the unionized.
this is now becoming an American tragedy.
I'm hoping that what we saw in Harrisburg yesterday was the first (and smallest) of MANY more to come.
We need unrelenting pressure on the were-WOLF and tranny of Transylvania.
This is awesome. People are suffering. It’s time to open all underused hospitals.
Our son works in an ER in suburban Philadelphia. Their volume is way below typical levels, and he's just had his hours cut. The hospital is furloughing employees because they don't have enough work for them. They too have a triage tent outside the ER, but when my husband and I drove past there about 10 days ago, it was deserted. It makes me sick. These health care workers put themselves on the line with inadequate PPE for weeks, and now they're being penalized financially because the hospitals don't have enough activity. He tells us that most of the COVID cases he sees coming in are old and/or obese. This doesn't justify closing down the state.
Push that out loudly and frequently.
Our Republic is depending on it!
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Thanks!
Stay safe!
Thanks lightman
Speaking to techs and nurses prior to my procedure I asked a bunch of questions about how things were going. They had little work to do. Normally the outpatient surgical unit is booked solid (been there too many times unfortunately), but last Tuesday there were only several patients that I could see.
Wolf and that Trannie thing they call Secretary of DOH have not a clue what is going on in the real world. They need to rot in prison for all the damage they have done.
Here’s a tribute IrishBrigade posted to “that Tranny thing” a couple of days ago:
while a young kid Richie could then see
his dickie would cause him great frenzy
so he took a huge axe
gave his penis some whacks
and became a grim bigwig in Pennsy..
Here’s a tribute IrishBrigade posted to “that Tranny thing” a couple of days ago:
while a young kid Richie could then see
his dickie would cause him great frenzy
so he took a huge axe
gave his penis some whacks
and became a grim bigwig in Pennsy..
Yeah, I saw that when IrishBrigade posted it. What a hoot. Thanks for reposting. I needed a chuckle.
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