appropriately stack cases to optimize the surgery schedule, utilization
and be ability to cover our services."
So far, the scheduling move has been working well. In fact, Ms.
Dennis says her hospital's OR utilization rate is around 75% since
making the change.
The next wave
Finally, there's the question in the back of everyone's mind right now:
How do we avoid getting caught off-guard in the event a second wave
of COVID-19 hits? There's no easy answer to this question, of course.
Ms. Dennis hopes the steps she's taking right now — mandatory pre-
procedure testing and rigorous patient assessments, limiting visitors
and making them wait in their cars, assigning and reprocessing N95s
to avoid shortfalls in PPE, and looking into the use of reusable respi-
rators — will ensure her facility is well-situated to handle whatever
the future holds. But regardless of the specific protocols you decide to
take to protect patients and staff as you slowly resume elective sur-
geries, you must maintain those protocols consistently for the long
term.
"We can't let our guard down," says Ms. Dennis. "Whatever happens,
we can't get comfortable. That's how we prepare ourselves for anoth-
er possible surge. It's our new normal."
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