Morris Hospital Postponing Elective Surgeries, Invasive Procedures in Response to COVID-19

Beginning Wednesday, March 18, all elective surgeries and elective invasive procedures at Morris Hospital will be postponed through at least April 30. Elective surgeries and elective invasive procedures generally includes anything planned that is not for a life-threatening condition.  All cases that are deemed emergent or urgent by the physician will proceed. All impacted patients are being notified.

According to hospital officials, the step is necessary in order to protect the community and Morris Hospital staff, and to conserve the hospital’s resources.

Late last week, the hospital implemented strict precautions to limit the number of persons coming to the hospital or any of its medical facilities:

• Hospital inpatients are limited to 1 designated visitor age 18 or older during their hospitalization. No other visitors will be permitted.
• Patients coming to any Morris Hospital facility for any reason may be accompanied by 1 person age 18 or older.
• All public meetings, health education classes, support groups and student clinical rotations have been suspended until further notice.
• Members of the community should not come to the hospital unless there is a medical reason for the visit. This includes coming to the hospital solely to eat in the cafeteria or shop in the gift shop.

“Our most urgent request of the community at this time is to please respect the precautions that we have in place, which also includes not coming to the hospital for non-emergent reasons if you have any signs of illness,” says Janet Long, Public Relations Manager at Morris Hospital. “Limiting the number of people who come to the hospital and all of our facilities is one way everyone can help us maintain a safe environment for our patients and staff.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control, anyone who thinks they may have been exposed to COVID-19 and develops a fever and symptoms such as cough or difficulty breathing, should call their healthcare provider for medical advice.  At this time, Morris Hospital only has permission to perform COVID-19 testing on individuals who meet the criteria outlined by the Centers for Disease Control.

“cdc.gov/coronavirus is an excellent resource and includes information on how to protect yourself, symptoms, and what to do if you are sick,” adds Long. “We’ve created some quick links from the hospital website to some of the most helpful pages on the CDC site to help everyone quickly find what they’re looking for.”