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Salem Hospital begins postponing some surgeries to handle influx of Covid patients

Salem Hospital on Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter)

Twenty scheduled surgeries at Salem Hospital are being canceled as the region’s largest medical provider continues to see a surge in Covid patients that has left few beds available.

Multiple factors are considered before recommending cancellation as Salem Health is working to mitigate the damaging effects of delayed care,” the hospital said in a statement.

The hospital announced the cancellations Thursday, saying it was one of several steps hospital leaders are taking to manage an unprecedented high volume of patients. As of Thursday morning, the hospital reported 83 patients with Covid, tying a pandemic record set Aug. 14, and 477 of 494 licensed beds occupied.

The current surge of COVID inpatients is serious and dangerous, more than what we have seen at any point in the pandemic. The situation threatens basic health care infrastructure that Oregonians depend on, most importantly the ability to access emergency services and high-acuity care when needed,” the hospital said in a statement Thursday.

Though the surgeries being postponed are considered “elective,” the term is something of a misnomer, said Dr. Marty Johnson, a pulmonologist who works in Salem Hospital’s intensive care unit.

Health care providers consider which surgeries are less urgent when deciding what to reschedule, but all scheduled surgeries are necessary for patients.

“You don’t get surgery unless you need it,” Johnson said.

Johnson said exampled of procedures that might be postponed include hip surgeries for patients in severe pain or hernia repairs.

“That person’s going to continue to live with pain and disability and decreased function status, but it’s not an immediate, life-threatening surgery,” Johnson said.

Hospitals around Oregon canceled or postponed most elective surgeries in the spring of 2020 to conserve scarce masks and protective equipment for treating Covid patients.

Salem Hospital has also hired traveling medical employees ad requested Oregon National Guard assistance for staffing, the statement said. During a Thursday news conference, Pat Allen, Oregon Health Authority Director said hospitals in Marion County would be among those to receive National Guard help in a second wave of deployments, but did not specify timing. An initial wave sent 500 guard members to overrun hospitals in southern and central Oregon starting Friday.

-Rachel Alexander