COLUMBUS – Fearing a surge in coronavirus cases would overwhelm Ohio’s hospitals, Gov. Mike DeWine has ordered all elective and non-essential surgical procedures canceled.
The Ohio Department of Health call center is open 7 days a week from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. to answer questions regarding COVID-19 at 1-833-4-ASK-ODH (1-833-427-5634).
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The order, which takes effect at the end of the business day Wednesday, prohibits procedures, except in cases where the surgery would save a life, organ or limb of a patient; would halt the progress of a disease, such as cancer, or where there is a risk of symptoms worsening to a severe degree.
The guidelines were established by the Ohio Hospital Association based on recommendations from from the U.S. Surgeon General, the American College of Surgeons and other experts.
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The intention is to conserve personal protection equipment (PPEs) for health care workers, beds for patients and equipment and facilities that might be needed in the event of a rapid increase of COVID-19 cases, which the state’s health director says is likely.
“There is no scenario now by which we won’t have a surge,” Dr. Amy Acton said, who said research indicates that actions taken by states like Ohio have lessened the potential impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
“If we did nothing, the estimates were that 2.2 million Americans would die,” she said.
Central Ohio’s major hospital networks — OSU Wexner Medical Center, OhioHealth and Mount Carmel have all canceled non-essential procedures.
“These are simply unprecedented times for us as a country and especially for us as medical providers,. As we brace for a possible surge of COVID-19 patients, we must do everything we can to preserve our resources and prepare our community, our facilities and our staff,” said Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, senior vice president and chief medical officer at OhioHealth.
The state’s hospitals are currently at about 75 percent capacity, which is normal for late winter, when the flu season is still in full swing, and could absorb an increase of 25 percent before becoming critically overcrowded, Mike Abrams, president and CEO of the Ohio Hospital Association, said.
If necessary, patients who are not infected with the COVID-19 virus could be moved to nursing homes, reopened hospitals or even hotels to make room for coronavirus patients, Abrams said.
The state Tuesday reported there were 67 confirmed cases of COVID-19, up from 50 on Monday. The 41 male patients and 36 females are scattered over 16 counties and range in age from 14 to 86. Four of the cases are in Franklin County, including two in the city of Columbus. Seventeen of the patients have been hospitaized, including a 23-year-old Columbus woman.
During a briefing in which DeWine, state health director Dr. Amy Acton and other principals were in one room and reporters were sequestered in two others, Acton announced that $15 million of Ohio’s share of a recently-approved federal aid measure would be distributed among the state’s 113 local health departments for monitoring and the rest would go to the state.
DeWine faced plenty of skeptics two weeks ago after banning spectators from a the Arnold Sports Festival, which draws fans from around the world to Columbus, two weeks ago. But aggressive steps by the Republican governor on the coronavirus outbreak are winning praise from Democrats and even business groups hurt by his decision to shut down the state’s bars and restaurants.
Even as he was being called an alarmist, the first-term governor but was out front last week with closing schools and recommending that fans be kept away from all indoor sports events.
DeWine on Wednesday sent a letter to the U.S. Small Business Administration to qualify the state for the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, which would allow small businesses and non-profits impacted by the outbreak of COVID-19 to apply for low-interest loans up to $2 million profits to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable and other bills.