SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Watsonville Community Hospital and Dominican Hospital have restarted offering elective procedures after they were put on hold to help slow the spread of Covid-19 and to prepare for a surge of patients with the disease.
This includes procedures such as surgeries, endoscopies, cardiac catheterization and interventional radiology procedures.
Watsonville Community hospitals launched a “soft start” last week and reopened the procedures on Monday, said Halsen Healthcare CEO Dan Brothman.
“Patients and doctors don’t want to put them off any longer,” he said. “There are some things you can put off, but if 2-3 months go by, it’s critical.”
Brothman said that everyone that enters the hospital is screened for Covid-19 symptoms, and that all surgery patients are tested for the disease.
“We want everyone in Watsonville to know that we’re doing everything we can to provide the safest environment we can,” he said.
It is still too early to determine whether the resumption of services will help the hospital financially, Brothman said.
In April, hospital officials announced several layoffs, which Brothman said stemmed from declining revenues.
“It’s impossible to say at this point,” he said. “Our focus has got to be providing the safest care as safely as we can for our patients, our physicians and our employees.”
Dominican on Monday announced a gradual reopening of elective procedures, with the first phase placed on medically necessary, time-sensitive procedures.
“One of the toughest changes we have had to make in the face of Covid-19 has been pausing scheduled procedures,” said hospital President and CEO Nanette Mickiewicz. “We are thrilled to begin offering elective procedures once again. The safety of our patients and staff always comes first. We won’t be able to provide every service right away—this will be a gradual process to ensure we are addressing the most urgent needs first and providing the safest care possible to our community.”
Dominican spokeswoman Claire Henry said that the decision to resume the procedures came based on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Surgeon General and the American Hospital Association, in addition to national associations of nurses, surgeons, and anesthesiologists.
Those entities recommended that, before scheduling procedures, there needed to be a sustained reduction in Covid-19 cases, enough personal protective equipment to keep patients and staff safe, and testing capacity for all patients.
Both Dominican and Watsonville hospitals have implemented a strict visitor policy, are screening all patients for Covid-19 symptoms and requiring them to wear masks.
Staff is monitored for symptoms daily, and patients with suspected or confirmed cases are isolated.
“It is important to remember that delaying care can make many illnesses significantly worse,” said Dominican Hospital Chief Medical Officer Greg Whitley. “Ignoring symptoms and postponing your care may increase your risk of serious complications. Dominican Hospital has successfully managed infectious diseases alongside standard patient care for generations. Our Hospital and our Emergency Department are safe, and ready to provide immediate care for urgent and life-threatening conditions.”
Brothman stressed the importance of everyone continuing to take their medication, see their doctors and visit the emergency rooms when they need to.
“We want to get back to normal as quickly as we can,” he said.
