These are troubling times that call for smart and balanced leadership to get us through our health crisis and out of our economic crisis. That balance is absent from the national media, and it’s time to make it right. We can start by reopening every hospital in America for daily care.
As a state senator, former Iowa public health director, and physician, I’ve had the challenge of interpreting medical and public health data and making decisions to protect both our personal and economic health.
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Reading much of our media today, it seems that people have forgotten the reason we all took drastic measures to fight COVID-19 in the first place.
We all retreated to our homes, voluntarily and under government health mandates, to flatten the curve and spread out illnesses over time, so that the healthcare system was not overwhelmed. This flattening ensured there would be an adequate supply of intensive care unit beds and ventilators if needed. It was not intended to prevent every single person from contracting the virus.
We can both protect the vulnerable who are susceptible to the harmful effects of this virus and begin to let people access needed medical services. Now, as Iowa and other states are reaching what appears to be the outbreak’s peak and have sufficient hospital capacity, it’s necessary to begin the next phase of safely opening parts of our economy, a crucial part being healthcare.
In Iowa, Gov. Kim Reynolds issued a proclamation to resume some elective surgeries and procedures through a phased approach. Every other governor should prudently and safely take similar measures.
In my state Senate district, there are four hospitals, and all have essentially been taken offline during this pandemic. Given the revenue shortfall of critical access hospitals and “in between” hospitals in normal times, their future was already under extreme duress. Prohibiting them from doing elective surgery and patients visits has further compounded their survival. Imagine the consequence of that. If COVID-19 bankrupts one or more of our hospitals and we’re left with only half the emergency care, half the hospital beds, half the medical care. It could be devastating.
Rural and smaller hospitals across the country are facing the same crushing pressures.
It was appropriate to protect healthcare workers and others, but numerous states have more than enough hospital capacity to care for both the current pandemic and allow this part of the economy to reopen.
We must not ignore the health of non-COVID patients. Elective surgery does not mean unnecessary or unwarranted, and we know that there are individuals who have much-needed surgery that has been delayed. There are also elderly individuals who may have succumbed to heart attacks or strokes because they did not want to call the hospital or go to the emergency room because we have been repeatedly reminded to stay home.
No one wants health and safety guidelines to be followed strictly more than health professionals. They dedicate their lives to care for others, but in doing so, they also risk their own. The public can be confident that with proper guidance, preparation, and personal protective equipment, ambulatory surgery centers and hospitals can be reopened for “elective“ surgery. While patients are likely to see different procedures than in the past, such as designated areas and transit pathways, so that “well” people don’t come in contact with those who are sick, such changes are necessary and likely to remain in place for some time to come.
Surgeries will likely be staggered further apart, family members will be limited or even prohibited from accompanying their loved one into the hospital or surgical/recovery suite and, where feasible, testing for the coronavirus or serological testing for antibodies to the coronavirus may be done.
Permitting ambulatory surgery centers and hospitals, especially rural hospitals, may not end the pandemic any sooner, but it can save both the life of individuals as well as much-needed infrastructure in our communities. It’s time to reopen the operating rooms — our communities depend on it.
State Sen. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, a Republican, is an ophthalmologist and former president of the Iowa Medical Society. She is also a candidate for the GOP nomination in the second congressional district.
