Page 43 - BusinessWest January 10, 2022

What Is Non-essential?
To help redirect resources, Gov. Charlie Baker activated the Mas- sachusetts National Guard on Dec. 22 to address the non-clinical support needs of hospitals and transport systems. Up to 300 of these Guard members will sup- port 55 acute-care hospitals, as well as 12 ambulance service pro- viders across the Commonwealth.
DPH surveyed hospitals and ambulance service providers and, in concert with the MHA, identi- fied five key roles that non-clinical Guard personnel can serve in sup- port hospital operations for up
to 90 days: driving ambulances used to transfer patients between two healthcare locations, such
as when patients are discharged from a hospital and transferred
to a long-term-care facility; pro- viding continuous or frequent
observation of a patient who is at risk for harm to themselves; helping to maintain a safe work- place; bringing patients via wheelchair or, if needed, stretcher, from their patient room to tests such as X-ray or CT scan, or from the emer- gency department to their inpatient floor; and delivering patient meals to their rooms.
But if resources are, indeed, being directed away from non-essential procedures, the ques- tion becomes what, exactly, constitutes a non- essential procedure. And the answer, in many cases, is complicated.
“The decision of what can be safely post-
poned, even for a week or three or four, is left to the discretion of the surgeon or clinical team,” Roose said. “That is an incredibly important fact because, ultimately, the providers are the ones responsible for the care of the patient, and we never want to see something untoward occur during the period of time when they could have been attended to. At Mercy, just like at other hospitals, those decisions are made by the treat- ing providers and patients in collaboration, with
“
more than it has ever been since
the beginning of the healthcare
”
their best interest in mind.”
Hatiras agreed. “When we talk about neces-
sary procedures, first of all, there’s no particular approach; every individual is different. If you think about it, there are very few procedures where postponing it enhances one’s health. We’re talking about surgery here. When somebody gets to the point where they need surgery, it’s not like getting a haircut, where it can wait until next month.”
Exceptions to this rule might include discre- tionary plastic surgery and perhaps Lasik, where the worst-case scenario might be a few more months of wearing glasses or contacts.
“But that’s about the only things I can think of,” Hatiras said. “With other things, you’re doing it because you’re in pain or your health is deterio-
Hospital capacity is stretched
emergency.
Spiros Hatiras says very few procedures can be deemed non-essential when one considers the health effects of delaying them.
orders. We recognize this can be a concern for patients, as well as our providers and colleagues who wish to continue to provide the care they are so expertly trained to do. This is not an ideal situation, but one we find ourselves in, and we look forward to resuming all care in the very near future.”
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HEALTHCARE
JANUARY 10, 2022 43
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