The Murphy administration is permitting elective surgeries starting on May 26, as the state moves further away from the mid-April peak of COVID-19 hospitalizations and begins lifting restrictions.
“This is a big step toward public health,” Gov. Phil Murphy said Friday at his daily COVID-19 press briefing in Trenton.
The move could provide sorely needed revenue to hospitals and other medical providers, who see the lion’s share of their revenue through elective procedures.
State Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli at the governor’s daily COVID-19 briefing in Trenton on May 13, 2020. – RICH HUNDLEY, THE TRENTONIAN
“Although these procedures are called elective, for many people who are battling any illness or dealing with chronic pain, disabled pain”, they are essential, said Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli.
The ban will be lifted in phases, and the first procedures allowed will be “urgent surgical procedures,” Persichilli said. Facilities have to test a patient for COVID-19 72 hours before the procedure, and then screen for symptoms the day of the surgery.
Patients will have to quarantine for the three days leading up to the procedure, and those who test positive for COVID-19 or show symptoms of the virus should not have the surgery.
“Individuals awaiting a scheduled surgery, or living with pain or chronic conditions, or in need of a procedure to diagnose an illness, have been in limbo for eight weeks,” New Jersey Hospital Association President and Chief Executive Officer Cathy Bennett said Friday in a statement.
Bennett
“The COVID-19 crisis will be compounded if we have ongoing harm to people’s health and well-being by delays in needed care.”
Across New Jersey, hospitalizations due to the virus have dropped from their mid-April peak, as have the number of patients on ventilators, and those in critical and intensive care, according to the state’s Department of Health.
That, combined with the drop in new cases and fatalities, has prompted the governor to roll back other restrictions – most recently those on beaches and boardwalks and prohibitions on non-essential retail and construction.
The health department and Division of Consumer Affairs will introduce “binding” guidance on Monday that hospitals and health care providers need to follow, such as the use of personal protective equipment.
“We can … begin to assist more residents with their non-COVID-19 and non-emergency needs,” Murphy said. “The data that we are seeing from our hospitals is as concrete as any data could be.”
The state’s total COVID-19 death toll topped 10,000 on Friday, and total statewide cases are nearing 150,000 since mid-March.
With the 285 overnight hospitalizations, the governor maintained that “we’re not out of the woods yet.”
“Hospitals and their care teams are taking extraordinary precautions to care for all in a safe environment,” Bennett added. “They have established procedures to protect patients and staff such as reconfigured spaces for social distancing, health screenings for people entering and teams of professionals dedicated to infection control, among others.”
Editor’s note: This story was updated at 2:37 p.m. EST on May 15, 2020, to include comments from New Jersey Hospital Association President and CEO Cathy Bennett.
