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U.S. Air Force Lt. Allyson Black (right), a registered nurse, cares for COVID-19 patients in a makeshift 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 COVID-19 wave receding for the first time in months, the state’s largest hospital system will cautiously resume elective surgeries for the first time this year.
“Due to the downward trends we are seeing in cases and hospitalizations, we have made the decision to partially resume elective surgeries at Banner hospitals on January 25,” said Dr. Marjorie Bessel, head of the clinic. Banner Health, at a press conference Friday. .
“Surgeries that can resume include those that are outpatient and those that do not require more than one night without intensive care.”
Banner halted elective surgeries on Jan.1 amid the rapid rise in COVID-19 cases and patients with severe complications.
“Our hospitals will look a little different as we move forward to perform some of these surgeries for patients who are already waiting more than three weeks for their procedure,” she said.
Bessel said that depending on conditions, personnel and other factors, some Banner facilities might decide it is best to maintain the moratorium.
However, procedures categorized as “elective” are still medically necessary and delays can be dangerous.
“If they are postponed for too long, they could turn into emerging medical problems that will then require hospitalization or subsequent intensive care,” she said.
The number of confirmed or suspected COVID-19 hospital patients at all Arizona hospitals fell to 4,495 on Thursday, the fewest since December 28.The number of intensive care beds used by COVID patients fell to 1,054, the second since December 28.
The hospital surge, which began in early November and was supercharged by travel and gatherings over the Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years holidays, peaked on January 11 with more than 5,082 hospital patients, including 1,183 in intensive care units.
“We’re very happy to have some reduction in our hospitalizations,” Bessel said. “This requires us, however, to remain vigilant as there is still a lot of uncontrolled spread in our communities.
Banner’s models predict a slower recovery from the current wave than that which occurred after the summer surge.
“We plan to reach hospitalization levels before the flare-up, but not for 10 to 11 weeks,” Bessel said.
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