Northwestern hospitals taking 'measured approach' to resuming elective procedures

Northwestern Medicine, like many health systems across the state, is resuming treatment for patients whose care was delayed because of COVID-19.

Hospitals in mid-March postponed most elective surgeries to free space and medical staffs for treating COVID-19 patients. But on Monday, the state lifted restrictions on those procedures, which generate a significant amount of a hospital's revenue.

Kevin Poorten, president of Northwestern Medicine's west region, says hospitals are considering a variety of factors to decide how quickly to restart elective procedures, including colonoscopies and knee replacement surgeries.

At Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield and Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital in Geneva, Poorten said clinical leaders are taking a "thoughtful and measured approach" to reschedule some cases that had been postponed.

"There's a clinical decision-making process that the team goes through," he said.

Meanwhile, both hospitals are taking steps to maintain a safe environment for health care providers, staff members and patients.

"It was the North Star in how we responded to the COVID-19 epidemic," Poorten said. "It continues to be the North Star as we start to go through this reactivation process and start to bring back more patients to the campus."

Officials at Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital said a multidisciplinary team of physicians and staff members will coordinate its process in "a gradual, thoughtful way," while ensuring the hospital maintains resources to care for COVID-19 patients.

Previously implemented policies to screen individuals entering the hospital and restrict visitors will remain in place, they said.

"As always, the safety of our patients and staff remain our top priority, and we realize that the changes put in place is not business as usual," Dr. Jeffrey Kopin, chief medical officer at Lake Forest Hospital, said in a statement. "However, our extensive planning and preparation to welcome patients back to our facility will ensure that we live up to our 'patients first' mission, which has never been more evident than it is right now."

Patients who need an elective procedure shouldn't fear going to a hospital because of COVID-19, officials said. "Our commitment is to really have our patients and the community understand that the hospital is a very safe environment," Poorten said.

Steps taken to create that environment include modified seating in waiting rooms to allow physical distancing, universal masking, thermal screening, enhanced cleaning and testing patients for COVID-19 before surgery.

"All those things are going to be a little bit different," Poorten said. "They should feel and look different because of the focus on creating a safe environment."

With CDH is licensed to have 395 beds and Delnor is licensed to have 159 beds, Poorten said he's confident the hospitals have the capacity to handle a surge of COVID-19 patients. "We are extremely confident of our ability to able to handle the volumes," he said.