Elective surgeries in Indiana’s largest health system to resume as COVID burden eases

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana’s largest hospital system plans to renew elective surgical procedures quickly after suspending them for months as COVID-19 sufferers and different acutely in poor health sufferers crowded its hospitals across the state.

Indiana College Well being officers mentioned Thursday some elective procedures may resume subsequent week on the Indianapolis-based system, which operates 16 hospitals.

IU Well being has a backlog of hundreds of elective surgical procedures, procedures which can be medically vital however can often be scheduled at a affected person’s comfort, comparable to hip replacements and tonsillectomies, mentioned Dr. Paul Calkins, vice chairman and affiliate chief medical govt.

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He mentioned elective surgical procedures would resume slowly “as a result of we nonetheless have a big COVID burden.”

“It’s going to take some time to ramp again as much as serve all these of us which can be ready for us. However we’re hoping to get to everyone as shortly as we will,” Calkins mentioned Thursday.

He mentioned IU Well being has continued to carry out emergency and pressing surgical procedures, comparable to these for most cancers, gunshot wounds and coronary heart assaults. Because the state’s largest hospital system, it usually performs greater than 70,000 surgical procedures a yr.

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IU Well being was treating 567 hospitalized COVID-19 sufferers throughout its system as of Thursday, however that was down about 15% from a peak of 669 on Jan. 9, officers mentioned. COVID-19 instances symbolize about 30% of the system’s whole affected person census.

About 70% of the COVID-19 instances at IU Well being hospitals are sufferers who’re unvaccinated, however that determine is as excessive as 90% within the intensive care unit, mentioned Dr. Chris Weaver, chief medical officer.