Oregon hospitals, surgical centers, and medical and dental offices will be allowed to start providing some non-essential medical procedures on May 1, Gov. Kate Brown announced Thursday.
Brown will lift her previous executive order, issued in March, that halted all elective and non-urgent procedures that require personal protective equipment (PPE) in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19 and preserve the state’s dwindling PPE supply. However, medical and dental facilities will need to meet strict criteria before being allowed to perform non-essential surgeries.
“Many Oregonians have been hoping for this news, because it means we can now start to think about scheduling that much-needed dental work or medical treatment that you’ve been waiting for,” Brown said at a press conference announcing the new rules Thursday. “I have also heard from many Oregonians who have felt the physical and emotional pain of putting their healthcare on hold, from a delayed knee surgery to a fertility treatment. I’m really grateful to allow these procedures to resume.”
Here’s the new criteria for hospitals and surgical centers from the Oregon Health Authority (OHA):
• Hospitals will need to maintain enough capacity to handle an increase in COVID-19 patients at any time. Specifically, at least 20 percent of regional hospital beds will need to stay open.
• They’ll need to have an “adequate” supply of personal protective gear (PPE) on hand—30 days for large hospitals and two weeks for smaller facilities.
• The facility has “adequate testing capacity” and tests can be completed with 2-4 days.
• Hospitals need to continue placing strict restrictions on patient visitation to reduce the chance of COVID-19 spreading in the hospitals.
Once hospitals start conducting non-essential procedures, they will need to “start slowly, and criteria should be reassessed biweekly.” The hospitals should also take risk factors into account, such as a patient’s age or pre-existing health conditions, when deciding whether to admit them for surgery.
The criteria for doctors’ and dentists’ offices include having two weeks’ worth of PPE on hand, and following “strict infection policies” recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They will also need to reassess protocols on a regular basis, and weigh the risks and benefits of treating each patient.
As the Mercury reported yesterday, many Oregonians have felt the impact of delayed medical care due to the coronavirus. OHA’s Dr. Dana Hargunani said at the press conference that now procedures that “are not an emergency, but still need to be scheduled ahead—like joint procedures, biopsies, ear procedures” will be allowed.
“These kinds of deferred procedures add to the suffering COVID-19 has imposed on Oregonians,” Hargunani added. “While indirect, the toll has been real.”
When asked by a reporter whether Oregon has enough PPE to open up non-essential medical services soon, Brown answered that “Oregonians have been very innovative in producing masks and gowns,” and that Oregon was “looking forward to some large shipments [of PPE] over the next few days.”
“We’ve got companies large and small… that are making PPE,” Brown added.
Brown also said Thursday that the rules might change again in the future, depending on COVID-19 infection rates and PPE supply. She compared moving forward with non-essential medical care to walking on a frozen pond in winter.
“If we see a crack on the ice or find ourselves in a precarious position, then we may need to pause for a bit longer,” she said. “Sometimes, we may even need to take steps back to more solid ground.”
