UPDATE: Butler Health System just announced that effective immediately patient access to Butler Memorial Hospital is through the Tower entrance only and between the hours of 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. All other entrances to the Butler hospital are closed (including the Brady Street entrance) with the exception of the Emergency Department, which is reserved for emergency cases only. Individuals who are not in an emergency health situation or critically ill, thus requiring emergency care, are asked to contact their physician office for guidance and direction before reporting to the emergency department.

Outpatient testing all BHS locationsIndividuals experiencing symptoms of a fever, cough, shortness of breath, runny nose/congestion, or flu like symptoms and have outpatient testing scheduled are asked to cancel their testing and not go to hospital or outpatient locations for walk in testing (lab, x-ray). Patients are asked to contact the physician who ordered testing for further direction.

Clarion Hospital visitation restrictionsAdditionally, as of 6 p.m. Sunday, Clarion Hospital will also be enacting visitation restriction measures. Other than those listed below, all patient entrances will be closed.The main entrance to the hospital will remain open to patients between the hours of 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.The Emergency Department is reserved for emergency cases only. Individuals who are not in an emergency health situation or critically ill, thus requiring emergency care, are asked to contact their physician office for guidance and direction before reporting to the emergency department.The Cancer Center entrance at Clarion Hospital will remain open and is reserved for cancer patients. The health system is enacting the measure in an effort to "reduce exposure and protect this vulnerable population of patients."

Earlier update regarding non-emergency surgical proceduresButler Health System announced this morning that all procedures scheduled to take place at hospitals and outpatient centers within its system in the next two weeks are now being evaluated by physicians to determine if they are non-emergency and can be postponed.In a statement issued Sunday morning, the regional health system said the move follows the recommendation of United States Surgeon General Jerome Adams, who urged hospitals and healthcare systems to consider suspending elective surgical procedures amid the outbreak of COVID-19 in a tweet Saturday morning.In his tweet, Adams listed three reasons hospital systems should consider the move. He said the elective procedures "brings possible coronavirus to your facilities, pulls from (personal protective equipment) stores, and taxes personnel who may be needed for COVID-19 response."The tweet came following a Friday tweet from the American College of Surgeons urging hospital systems and surgeons to " prepare now to manage elective surgical procedures during COVID-19 outbreak, with a plan to minimize, postpone, or cancel at this time."In its statement, BHS said that all elective or non-emergent surgical procedures scheduled for the next two weeks - including surgery, cath lab, angiography and endoscopy procedures - at Butler Memorial Hospital, Clarion Hospital and The Surgery Center at Benbrook are "being evaluated with the physicians performing the procedure to determine if they are non-emergent and may be postponed."In its release, BHS said that patients will be contacted prior to the date of their scheduled procedure if it is being postponed. The health care system is continuing to monitor the developments surrounding the impact of COVID-19 and will post additional updates on its website.

For more information of this and other regional cancellations, postponements and updates related to COVID-19, please make sure to check our Butler Eagle website and follow us on Facebook.