May 8th, 2020- — In accordance with Governor J.B. Pritzker’s announcement of a modified Stay-AtHome order through May that allows certain elective surgeries for non-life-threatening conditions, HSHS St. Mary’s Hospital will be resuming elective surgeries beginning May 11.
Those who had previously scheduled surgical procedures that were delayed due to the Illinois Stay-at-Home order during April will be contacted by their surgeon’s office to reschedule their surgery in upcoming weeks/months.
HSHS Illinois Division Chief Nursing Executive Allison Paul shared, “We have not offered nonemergent procedures because of the Governor’s order for several weeks and there is quite a backlog of cases at each of our HSHS Illinois hospitals. We encourage patients to contact their doctor for more information about when they can get their procedure scheduled in the coming weeks.”
HSHS St. Mary’s Hospital will be following all Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) guidelines to ensure the safety of patients and staff. Included in these IDPH guidelines that the hospital will be following are:
- All patients preparing for an elective procedure must have a negative COVID-19 test on file within 72 hours of a scheduled procedure and must self-quarantine after being tested until the day of surgery to limit their risk of exposure. If you have a surgery or procedure scheduled, you will receive instructions from your provider or the hospital on the next steps. If applicable, patients will be informed during a pre-surgical call the most convenient place to undergo this testing. HSHS St. Mary’s Hospital will only be testing patients scheduled for procedures at an HSHS facility.
- The patient’s one support person that will be allowed to accompany them the day of their surgery will be screened.
- The hospital’s current visitor restrictions will still apply to minimize traffic within the hospital to keep patients and the community safe.
Additionally, all patients and visitors will be required to wear a mask at all times while at the hospital. They may bring their own from home or will be given one at the hospital. The patient and support person will also be screened as they enter the hospital on the day of the surgery.
“During the unknown early stages of COVID-19 in the nation and our communities many hospitals, like ours, canceled elective surgeries to ensure the hospital had the capacity to care for these patients and prepare for a surge,” said Dr. Gurpreet Mander, HSHS Illinois Chief Physician Executive. “We are grateful that we can now begin to provide elective surgeries again to our area residents.” “HSHS St. Mary’s Hospital has established processes in place and we are working closely with our surgeons and other specialists to schedule procedures as soon as safely possible. We recognize there are many patients who are seeking care and we will do everything we can to accommodate requests for our care in a timely manner, while also ensuring we maintain a safe hospital environment for all patients we serve.”
