Renzo Downey
When the executive order suspending elective surgeries during the COVID-19 pandemic expires next week, Tampa General Hospital will be ready to handle those procedures on May 11, according to president and CEO John Couris, who joined Gov. Ron DeSantis for a press conference at Tampa General Monday.
Hospitals across the state stopped offering elective surgeries, an economic boon for medical facilities, on March 20 following an order by the Governor meant to conserve personal protective equipment, which Tampa General Hospital Vice President Dr. Charles Lockwood said hospitals now have plenty of.
Major hospital systems in Florida are receiving five-minute tests from Abbott Laboratories that are enabling an instant turnaround when previous tests may have needed days to complete.
The hospital is testing all patients entering the facility for COVID-19, Couris said. They just completed testing all inpatients for the disease. The hospital also plans to use serological tests, which can reveal if someone has developed antibodies against COVID-19, among its workers.
“We wanted to level-set and create a baseline, and we want to test all new patients being either admitted into the institution or coming in for an elective procedure so we are ready when the executive order expires on May 8th,” Couris said.
May 11, the date Tampa General officials plan to restart elective procedures, is the following Monday.
Banning elective surgeries also preserved hospital space and limited exposure as federal and state guidelines call for social distancing. But now hospitals are seeing a decline in visits for chest pains or stroke symptoms, signaling that Floridians may be opting to risk another health problem over contracting COVID-19.
“They need to know that they can come to the hospital and that they’re in a safe environment,” Couris said.
And Lockwood added that having 20 people on a boat, like he says he experienced first hand this weekend, is more dangerous than visiting hospitals.
The Florida Hospital Association backed the ban on elective surgeries, voting the day before DeSantis signed the order to voluntarily shut down elective procedures. But last week, the association presented its plan to reopen nonessential procedures to the Governor’s Re-Open Florida Task Force. The Florida Society of Anesthesiologists endorsed the plan, which Couris received as a member of the task force’s executive committee.
Jackson Memorial Hospital had announced a series of pay cuts and furloughs due to a drop in non-emergency care amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Carlos Migoya, Chief Executive of Jackson Hospital, eventually pulled back on those changes.
During the suspension, permissible procedures included removing cancerous tumors, transplants, limb-threatening vascular surgeries, trauma-related procedures, and dental care related to the relief of pain and management of infection. Others like endoscopy, most cataract and lens surgeries, non-urgent spine and orthopedic procedures, and cosmetic procedures have been off the table.
