BMH gets back on track with elective, optional procedures
While visitors to Butler Memorial Hospital still are required to wear masks and get their temperatures checked upon entry, many are patients reentering the hospital to receive care that was paused at the height of the coronavirus pandemic.
Dr. David Rottinghaus, Butler Health System's chief medical officer and emergency medical physician, said the hospital has been catching up on administering elective treatments and procedures like surgeries, many of which were postponed during the past two years because of the volume of patients with COVID-19.
Elective surgeries were put on state-mandated hold at different points over the past two years, but Rottinghaus said the hospital only has delayed procedures of its own accord when beds were not available.
“We did have days where we suspended surgeries simply because we didn't have a lot of hospital beds. Right now we are not restricting what we are doing,” Rottinghaus said. “We are still catching up on some procedures that were delayed in January, but we're getting in people who are in need. We are handling those (cases) very efficiently.”
BMH reported on Monday that it had eight inpatients with COVID-19, but none were in the intensive care unit with severe symptoms. The state Department of Health reported 42 new positive cases over the weekend of April 16. The average daily number of positive county cases has been around 10 and under for about the past month.
Rottinghaus said that while positive COVID cases have been steady for several months, the shrinking number of hospitalizations and deaths means the disease could be becoming endemic.
The falling transmission rate has led to more people seeking other services like mental health care and behavioral health, he said.
Respiratory illnesses tend to spread around the spring and summertime, so Rottinghaus said taking a COVID test could help indicate what level of care an individual needs.
“Our most important marker on how to respond is going to relate to hospital admissions and how sick people are getting,” Rottinghaus said. “We are still seeing a fair number of respiratory diseases, but a lot of the more common complaints we are seeing, especially in the emergency department, are chest pain, shortness of breath, abdominal pain — we are still seeing a lot of medical issues.”
The onset of summer also brings with it different types of medical emergencies, like injuries and allergy symptoms.
Rottinghaus said the immunization rate could mean COVID deaths and hospitalizations will remain low, so long as the transmission rate doesn’t explode.
“Hopefully this trend of more minor illness, more vaccine administration and less hospitalizations continues,” Rottinghaus said. “I think we're going to be OK barring a variant that behaves differently.”
