U.S. Air Force First Lieutenant Allyson Black (R), a registered nurse, cares for COVID-19 patients in a makeshift ICU (Intensive Care Unit) at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center on January 21, 2021 in Torrance, California . (Photo by Mario Tama / Getty Images)
PHOENIX – With Arizona’s winter wave COVID-19 retreating for the first time in months, the state’s largest hospital system will cautiously resume elective surgery for the first time this year.
“Due to the downward trends that we see in cases and hospitalizations, we made the decision to partially resume elective surgery at Banner hospitals on January 25,” said Dr. Marjorie Bessel, clinical director at Banner Health, during a press conference on Friday -market .
“The surgeries that can be resumed include those that are outpatient and those that do not require more than one night of hospitalization without care in the ICU.”
Banner suspended elective surgery on January 1 amid the rapid increase in cases of COVID-19 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 to do the procedure,” she said.
Bessel said that depending on conditions, personnel and other factors, some facilities at Banner may decide that it is better to continue the moratorium.
However, procedures classified as “elective” are still clinically necessary and delays can be dangerous.
“If they are postponed for too long, they can turn into emerging medical problems that require hospitalization or subsequent care in the ICU,” she said.
The number of confirmed or suspected COVID-19 inpatients in all Arizona hospitals fell to 4,495 on Thursday, the lowest since December 28. The number of ICU beds used by patients with COVID has dropped to 1,054, the second lowest since December 28.
The hospital outbreak, which began in early November and was overwhelmed by travel and meetings during the Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year holidays, peaked on January 11 with more than 5,082 inpatients, including 1,183 in ICUs.
“We are very pleased to have some reduction in our hospitalizations,” said Bessel. “However, this requires us to remain vigilant because there is still a lot of uncontrolled spread within our communities.”
Banner models are predicting a slower recovery from the current wave than after the summer wave.
“We hope to reach hospitalization levels prior to the sudden increase, but not in the next 10 to 11 weeks,” said Bessel.