Several hospitals and surgery centers in Pueblo, Colo., have struggled to recover from COVID-19-related shutdowns, the AG Journal reports.
What you should know:
1. Pueblo-based Parkview Medical Center mainly performs elective surgeries. Because of the state's stay-at-home order, the hospital had a large backlog of cases to address.
2. Parkview moved around staff and expanded block times to address the backlog, which took more than a month to clear, according to Sandeep Vijan, MD, Parkview's chief quality officer.
3. However, the hospital's emergency department saw drastically decreased volumes because of patient fears. Dr. Vijan said, "Fear kept many patients at home who definitely needed care, but sought it far later in the course of their disease."
4. Pueblo-based Hanson Clinic, a private practice with a surgery center, also struggled. During the elective surgery ban, the clinic had a 70 percent reduction in elective surgery volume. Since the ban was lifted, the center saw its volumes recover, but said volumes remained down by 50 percent of pre-COVID-19 figures.