The latest extension of Gov. Eric Holcomb’s “Stay-At-Home” order may allow health care facilities to begin doing elective surgeries.
Holcomb announced the details Monday of his new COVID-19 executive order.
Health care providers were ordered at the start of the month to cancel or postpone non-urgent procedures, in order to conserve supplies. But Holcomb says as numbers have improved, the state will now spend the next week evaluating whether it’s safe to allow those surgeries once more.
“We’re going to let the cases and the numbers and the hospital admittance numbers drive our decision,” Holcomb says.
The potential shift in state guidelines comes after many medical device manufacturers, including Bloomington-based Cook Medical, had to make cuts as demand for products shifted to ICU-based medical devices.
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The Indiana Medical Device Manufacturer’s Council (IMDMC) released a statement Monday noting its appreciation for President Donald Trump's federal plan to begin resuming elective surgeries.
"The term ‘elective surgeries’ implies that patients choose these procedures however in reality, these surgeries and procedures contribute to a patients’ overall health and well‐being and must often be performed," the statement reads. "The patients who need life‐saving care should have access to receive it and we must make sure that is possible as the plan is implemented."
State Health Commissioner Dr. Kris Box says if the state gives the go-ahead, it will still be important for individual facilities to determine whether they can perform the procedures.
“If we start to see a surge or if we let things up and see an increase again, it may be a time when they as a team – as a hospital system or network, as a region – say, ‘You know, we need to lock this back down for a little bit and then reopen it, as needed,’” Box says.
The governor’s new “Stay-At-Home” order runs through May 1.
Contact Brandon at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5. Emma Atkinson contributed to this post.
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This is a rapidly evolving story, and we are working hard to bring you the most up-to-date information. However, we recommend checking the websites of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the Indiana State Department of Health for the most recent numbers of COVID-19 cases.
