If you need your gallbladder removed or your knee replaced, you could be able to get such a procedure in Florida as early as May 9.
Florida hospitals, outpatient centers and doctors’ offices are putting plans in place to reopen for elective surgeries and other procedures when the governor’s executive order banning those procedures expires on May 8.
At a news briefing Monday, Gov. Ron DeSantis said hospitals can easily reopen for all medical procedures and still handle a potential rise in COVID-19 patients because forecasts about how many people would need to be hospitalized from the virus did not pan out.
“There was never the stress on hospital capacity,” DeSantis said. “Six weeks ago, the prediction was for hundreds of thousands of hospital beds. Statewide, we have 2,200 being used right now.”
DeSantis had issued an executive order on March 20 to ban elective surgeries and non-urgent medical procedures and preserve supplies and hospital beds for coronavirus patients. On Monday, the governor noted that some parts of the state had less demand on their hospitals, but all regions have plenty of bed capacity. State groups representing hospitals and physicians have been advocating for non-emergency medical procedures to resume.
John D. Couris, CEO of Tampa General Hospital, announced at Monday’s news briefing that his hospital will be up and running for a full schedule of procedures on May 11.
Luring patients, though, will require instilling public confidence that remains lacking. “People need to know they can come and be treated in a safe environment,” Couris said.
Throughout the state, the moratorium on non-emergency medical procedures has taken a financial toll on hospitals and private practices. While a “pause” was necessary to preserve personal protective equipment, hospitals say they are losing millions in revenue and have been pushing for reopening of lucrative elective surgeries.
Couris said given the loss in revenue, Tampa General is ready to reopen cautiously and will test all patients for COVID-19.
Broward Health will use the same safety precautions when it reopens for elective procedures once the ban expires. It will reopen first to patients whose treatments were postponed. Broward Health’s precautions include screening everyone who enters the hospitals, continuing to use dedicated COVID-19 units, and requiring all workers to wear masks.
The public health system’s admissions and hospitalizations are down about 40% — including COVID-19 patients. “We have priority cases ready to schedule and are confident with the safety measures our team has implemented,” said Gino Santorio, president and CEO of Broward Health.
To the north, Holy Cross Hospital will take a phased approach when the ban expires, and likely reopen for elective surgery by May 11.
“We have done a lot of thinking about this and we are looking at more of a soft reopening,” said Dr. Alex Justicz, chief of surgery at Holy Cross Hospital in Fort Lauderdale. Initially, the hospital will open eight of its 11 operating rooms, and perform only operations with short-term recoveries. Doctors will put patients in single rooms. Every person who will have an operation will be tested for the virus first.
Justicz said the hospital will evaluate continuously and adjust accordingly. “Part of the issue is reopening at a time when there could still be a demand for supplies,” he said. “There still is an issue in some marketplaces with gowns. If there are scarce resources, we will have to see how the timeline runs.”
South Florida’s private physician practices also are preparing to resume medical treatments as soon as the executive order lifts. Dermatologists, gynecologists, plastic surgeons and orthopedics eagerly await the opportunity to treat patients again in their offices and earn income.
Boca Raton dermatologist Jeffrey Fromowitz said beginning May 9, if the ban lifts, he will open his office half-days, prioritizing those with skin cancers and painful growths over procedures such as Botox and cosmetic fillers.
“We are going to try to slowly get back,” Fromowitz said. “But even when the order lapses, I don’t believe it will be business as usual. People are scared and hesitant and rightly so. My clientele is older and I am going to do as much as I can to keep them out of office until we have a vaccine.”
Fromowitz said he will enforce various precautions; In his office, he will text the patient waiting outside when he is ready to see them, the door will stay propped open, no one will sign in, temperatures will be checked, and no one but the patient will be allowed in. All employees and patients will be required to wear masks.
“We are taking our responsibility seriously,” he said.
Cindy Krischer Goodman can be reached at cgoodman@sunsentinel.com, 954-304-5908, Twitter and Instagram @cindykgoodman.
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