LAKELAND, Fla. (WFLA) – Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center has announced all non-urgent elective cases will be postponed starting Aug. 23.
This is in addition to the most recent change on Aug, 16 of postponing elective surgeries that require an overnight stay. Emergency surgeries and high-acuity procedures will not be impacted. Patients with surgeries or procedures affected by this change will be notified directly about rescheduling.
“Given the extremely high number of COVID-19 cases in our community and the increasing patient volume at our Medical Center, we find it necessary to make this decision to better serve our patients,” said Timothy Regan, MD, Lakeland Regional Health Chief Medical Officer and President of Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center. “We are especially appreciative of the surgeons and the entire surgical team who practice at the Medical Center who are working with us through this time to help accommodate the needs of our patients.”
“It is a difficult decision to make, as we know every surgery is important, but the ever-growing demand for capacity to care for both those with COVID-19 and our patients with other serious conditions has led us to make this change,” said Danielle Drummond, MS, FACHE, President and CEO of Lakeland Regional Health. “We will reevaluate in a few weeks, but for now, this move allows us to create even more physical capacity and provides us with additional clinicians to help care for the high census of patients at our Medical Center.”
Lakeland Regional Health will continue to monitor the situation and will make additional changes as necessary going forward depending on the course of the pandemic.
In recent weeks, Lakeland Regional Health has seen an overwhelming increase in COVID-19 patients with nearly 400 patients positive for the coronavirus.
