HOT SPRINGS, Ark. — CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs announced they will temporarily postpone and reschedule elective surgeries and procedures.
This will give time to focus available hospital capacity and resources on the growing volume of COVID-19 patients who require hospitalization and other critical care needs in Southwest Arkansas.
The hospital said the decision was made to ensure that the healing ministry can continue to provide high quality, timely care for all Arkansans.
“The postponement of elective procedures is a necessary step to conserve hospital resources, space and the capacity of our healthcare personnel to deliver exceptional, compassionate care,” said CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs President Dr. Douglas Ross.
“CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs will continue to provide emergency care and procedures deemed necessary in coordination with a patient’s physician.”
Dr. Ross said the hospital looks at it as a proactive move, rather than a reactive measure, but it still wasn't an easy decision to make.
"Our plan is to do this for as short a period of time, as possible, because we realize that some of these patients need surgery," he said.
But one that, Ross said, had to be made after the hospital reached its highest number of COVID hospitalized patients since the beginning of the pandemic on Tuesday, Aug. 3.
"We're tasked with providing care for our most urgent need right now and our most urgent need right now is the care of the COVID patient," he said.
By postponing elective surgeries and procedures, Ross said it puts the focus and resources on the growing number of people battling the virus.
"That is allowing us to redistribute those doctors, those nurses, those resources to the care of the COVID patients in our hospital and our large number of non-COVID patients in our hospital," he said.
In addition, CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs will temporarily suspend Saturday clinic hours at convenient care clinic locations in Hot Springs Village to allow those healthcare professionals to focus on other areas of critical need.
"We are actually consolidating some of those operations to similarly pull some of those resources back to the hospital to make sure that we can keep our doors open and say 'yes' to the patients that need us," Ross said.
Regular weekday hours of operation for those clinic locations remain unaffected.
The hospital said the health and safety of their patients, visitors, staff, and healthcare providers are their highest priorities.
While the hospital continues to do everything it can to serve its community, Dr. Ross hopes this change serves as a message.
"All of these things that our healthcare systems are doing across the state, just reinforce the critical need that everybody needs to get their COVID vaccine," he said.
Ross said they'll keep their doors open for emergency surgery and if COVID numbers decline, the hospital will get the elective surgeries "back on the books."
CHI St. Vincent advises patients not to avoid critical care when necessary but advises other patients to avoid emergency rooms unless symptoms are severe.
Patients should contact their primary health care provider by phone first and then take appropriate steps to receive care or visit local urgent and convenient care clinics.
Existing safety precautions like limiting visitation and universal masking for staff and patients will remain in place at CHI St. Vincent facilities.