News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
The state will allow elective procedures to resume at hospitals across the state Friday.
The Tennessee Hospitals Association Board of Directors unanimously approved guidelines to the phased-approach that will begin Friday. CEO Wendy Long said the timing and approach to restarting elective procedures will be determined at each hospital.
“Hospitals will be cleared to begin implementing their plans after a testing they have completed the prerequisite steps,” Long said.
Those steps include ongoing access to the appropriate levels of PPE, a COVID-19 testing plan, and processes to deal with staff and visitors.
“The guidelines require ongoing reporting of data regarding hospital capacity and COVID-19 patients to the Tennessee Department Of Health,” Long said. “They promote a community-level approach to COVID-19 planning and response with regular meetings of hospital leadership to review disease trends and resource utilization.
Long said there will be “vigilant” monitoring of all data as elective procedures begin again across the state. Long said it is clear hospitals have suffered economically by not conductive elective procedures, but called it necessary while the state ascertained its ability to handle COVID-19.
Cookeville Regional Medical Center CEO Paul Korth serves as chairman-elect of the Tennessee Hospitals Association.
